TROY – Levi Brown and Jerrel Jernigan each scored two touchdowns to help Troy beat Florida International 33-23 on Saturday night.

Brown completed 18 of 28 passes for 253 yards with two touchdowns in his first start for the Trojans (4-2, 3-0 Sun Belt Conference), which moved into a first-place tie with UL-Lafayette in the conference. Jernigan added 131 yards receiving and a touchdown, rushed for 88 yards on 10 carries and completed his only pass for a 2-yard touchdown.

Paul McCall completed 22 of 33 passes for 266 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Golden Panthers (3-4, 2-1), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.

Brown threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Williams on Troy’s first drive, and an 86-yard touchdown pass to Jernigan on the next to give Troy a 13-0 lead. McCall’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Junior Mertile cut the Trojans’ lead to 13-9 at the end of the first and, after Troy’s Sam Glusman hit field goals of 20 and 44 yards, Daunte Owens’ 1-yard run left the Golden Panthers trailing 19-16 at halftime.

But Jernigan’s 2-yard pass to Justin Bray in the third and Dan Parker’s 1-yard rush in the fourth put the game out of reach.