GRAMBLING, La. -- Head Coach Doug Williams' "Cardiac Cats" were back at it Saturday, going down to the wire to take a win in their home finale of the 2011 season.

Grambling State scored in the final 1:30 and then made a last season defensive stand to take a 29-25 Southwestern Athletic Conference win over Texas Southern Saturday at Robinson Stadium, keeping alive their hopes of a berth in the SWAC Championship game.

The win pushed GSU to 5-3 in the SWAC West, keeping them tied with Prairie View A&M. But PVA&M holds the tiebreaker with a head-to-head win over the Tigers earlier this season, meaning GSU needs to have Prairie View lose next weekend to Alabama A&M and then defeat Southern in the Bayou Classic on Nov. 26 in order to advance to the conference title game on Dec. 10 in Birmingham, Ala.

Grambling State (6-4 overall) won its fifth straight game by rallying back with 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter Saturday as D.J. Williams turned in a career game, hitting on 14-of-19 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns.

Trailing 25-14 heading into the fourth quarter, Tech cut into Texas Southern's lead as D.J. Williams hit Van Phillips on a eight-yard scoring pass four seconds into the stanza to cut TSU's lead to 25-22.

The G-Men then added some late heroics as D.J. Williams hit Mario Louis on a bubble screen and let the senior receiver do the rest as the senior receiver darted and danced his way for a 34-yard score, diving for the pylon in the left corner of the end zone to get the touchdown.

"They called a screen to other side, but D.J. being D.J., he changed the play to my side," Louis said. "After I scored, it was just a sigh of relief. All season long we've talked about finishing what we started, and that's something we've been able to do in recent games. I just wanted to make sure we did it again."

Louis, who caught a five-yard scoring pass from D.J. Williams in the second quarter, finished with nine catches for 211 yards and the two scores.

"Every week it seems we have someone step up for us and today Mario reared his head again," Doug Williams said. "The team just kept fighting and working hard, and something good happened as a result.

"You have to remember that we're doing it this season with two young quarterbacks. They have to learn to move the chains instead of always going for the big play. They'll be able to watch film in the offseason and after a good Spring, they'll both be better next season."

With the game tied 14-14 at halftime, Texas Southern went up late in the third quarter with a 20-yard field goal by Wilbert Ortis with 4:30 left in the period before quarterback Rico Smalls hit Richard Samuel on a 21-yard scoring strike at the 1:29 mark of the stanza.

After Grambling's late offensive heroics, it was up to the GSU defense to secure the win in the waning seconds. Texas Southern drove all the way down to the Grambling four-yard line in the final minute before Cliff Exama sacked Smalls for a 10-yard loss, forcing a fourth-and-goal situation for TSU at the GSU 14.

"The coaches called my number on a blitz and I knew I had to get in there and make a play," said Exama, who turned in a game-high 18 tackles. "We knew we had to keep them out of the end zone to keep our chances (of a SWAC Championship Game berth) alive."

The it was freshman Tyree Hollins chance to play the hero as his tight coverage in the corner of the end zone gave the win to GSU as time expired and the G-Men exploded onto the field in celebration.

"Tyree is a great athlete, which is why we have him back there at corner," Doug Williams said. "We were looking for someone to make a play, and he came through with that athletic ability."

Texas Southern actually outgained GSU 490 to 313 total yards. But the G-Men make big plays when they needed to and came away with the win.

"You don't get used to these tight games," Doug Williams said. "But I'll take a win every time. We're still growing and learning as a team and getting better in the process, especially on offense. Hopefully we can keep that going against Southern."