ABILENE, Texas -- Twelfth-ranked Hardin-Simmons collected five touchdown passes from Ryan Breton and three receiving TDs from Reese Childress to hold off Texas Lutheran 48-38 Saturday afternoon at HSU's Shelton Stadium.

HSU improved to 3-0 overall. TLU fell to 0-4 overall with the non-conference loss.

Breton also tossed a pair of TD passes to Alex Bell. Breton completed 17 of 29 for 279 yards with one interception.

Bulldog junior quarterback Zach Galindo put together the best game of his collegiate career. Galindo threw five touchdowns and did not throw an interception against the Cowboys. Galindo completed 22 of 31 passes for 265 yards. He was sacked five times.

After TLU fell behind 21-0 early in the second quarter, Galindo rallied the Bulldogs with TD strikes to Jekovan Holmes (14 yards) and Tri-Rice Van Buren (83 yards). Van Buren, the fifth-year season, has seen time at defensive line, linebacker, fullback and now tight end.

Galindo-to-Van Buren cut the HSU lead to 21-14 with 3:46 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs added a Chadd Brown 27-yard field goal just before the half to cut the Cowboys' lead to 21-17.

HSU came out of the break and scored on back-to-back possessions with Breton TD passes to Bell and Childress, increasing the Cowboys' lead to 35-17.

The Bulldogs rallied with a Galindo-to-Holmes touchdown that covered 11 yards. After HSU jumped the lead to 42-24 on a Breton 1-yard run, Galindo hit J.B. Brown for a two-yard score.

HSU answered the latest TLU touchdown with one final Breton-to-Bell connection, which covered 24 yards. The drive took 11 plays, covered 70 yards and took 5:33 off the clock. HSU led 48-31 with 7:23 remaining in the game.

Marquis Barrolle closed out the TLU scoring with an 8-yard scoring play from Galindo. The drive took 16 plays and went 76 yards.

TLU's ensuing onside kick, which the Bulldogs had a chance to recover, went out of bounds.

Barrolle carried the ball 29 times and gained 143 yards. He also caught five passes for 44 yards.

Holmes caught nine passes for 60 yards with the two scores. Brown added five catches for 62.

Joshua Scruggs returned two kickoffs for 94 yards, with a long of 69.

Darian Candler led the Bulldogs in tackles for a fourth consecutive week. The senior recorded 14 total tackles, one sack for nine yards, three tackles for 13 yards in losses, and an interception for three yards.

TLU and HSU will play together in the American Southwest Conference next season. The Bulldogs start their final Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule in two weeks with a Homecoming contest in Seguin against Trinity. Kickoff on Oct. 8 is set for 6 p.m. at TLU's Bulldog Stadium. TLU is the three-time defending SCAC champion.