Columbia (2-8, 1-6) dominated time-of-possession with 40:47, but the comeback came up short, with Brown (5-5, 3-4) earning the road win.
On the first play from scrimmage, Brown's Seth Rosenbauer broke free for a 75 yard touchdown. On Columbia's next offensive play, Ludovic Richardson hopped on a fumbled Lion snap in the endzone, resulting in a 14-0 lead, a mere 21 seconds into the game.
Senior safety Travis Reim picked off Marcus Muller at the 38-yard line, with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter, helping to kick-start a comeback for the Lions. Following the interception, Cameron Molina scored his first touchdown of the day with a one-yard jaunt into the end zone, capping off a nine play drive with 13:39 remaining in the second quarter.
Since the opening rushing touchdown by the Bears, the Lions defense held strong forcing an interception and four three-and-outs. With 7:17 remaining in the first half, the Bears blocked a punt and fell on it in the end zone, resulting in a Bears touchdown and a 21-7 lead.
Following the special team miscue, the Lions stormed down the field, putting together 16-play, 78-yard drive ending with a five-yard receiving touchdown by Molina from quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg.
The Lions went into the half trailing 21-14, as Molina added a score on the ground among his 25 carries for 100 yards, and a touchdown in the air with four catches for 31 yards.
Brown opened up the second half scoring with a touchdown on its second drive of the third quarter when Troy Dolas hauled in a 26-yard score up the sideline from Marcus Fuller, giving the Bears a 28-14 lead.
Columbia would strike back later in the third on a nine play, 27-yard drive that resulted in a 30-yard field goal from Cameron Nizialek. The two teams went into the fourth with Brown leading 28-17, and the Lions not wanting to quit.
With 7:37 on the clock, Columbia took over from their own 34. Mornhinweg and the Lions offense put together a seven-play, 66-yard drive that ended when Scooter Hollis grabbed a 35-yard touchdown as his quarterback got hit by a Brown defensive lineman.
Trailing 28-23 with 2:55 to play, Columbia had the ball on its own 35 with one timeout left. The Lions put together a 13-play drive, getting all the way down to the five-yard line before facing fourth down with under 10 seconds to play. Facing pressure, Mornhinweg threw the ball up for grabs in the end zone, but a Bears defender got under it to steal a win for Brown.
Molina was the star on the ground for the second straight week, carrying the ball 40 times for 174 yards and a score, while finishing the game with five receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. Mornhinweg went 23-for-35 with 204 yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Christian Conway led the way with nine tackles and 1.5 for a loss, while Keith Brady had eight tackles and 1.5 for a loss. Reim had four tackles in his final outing, but grabbed two crucial interceptions to keep Columbia in the game.
