(UND Athletics) FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Despite a scoreless third quarter, there were plenty of fireworks in the fourth quarter with North Dakota (2-1) escaping Northern Arizona (1-2) with a 27-24 win on Saturday afternoon.
The Lumberjacks found the end zone to take a 24-20 lead with 1:42 remaining and the Fighting Hawks went to work from their own 25. Schuster started with four consecutive pass completions to get UND down to the NAU 23. It was the next play that was the difference when Tommy Schuster found Jack Wright in the end zone for the go-ahead score. Brady Stevens connected on the extra point to give the Hawks a 24-20 advantage. On the final drive, Schuster was a perfect 5-for-5 passing.
NAU got the ball back with 53 seconds remaining and started at its own 25 yard-line. The Lumberjacks marched all the way down to the 50 with one play remaining with three seconds left. After facing pressure, R.J. Martinez found a receiver at the UND 39, but he immediately went down when attempting to pitch the ball to allow the Hawks to leave with the 24-20 victory.
Schuster was efficient once again, going 21-of-32 through the air for 206 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Bo Belquist was his favorite target with 10 receptions for 56 yards, including a touchdown that put UND up 20-17 with just under five minutes left. Garett Maag hauled in five receptions for 47 yards.
Tyler Hoosman had the second 100-yard rushing game of his career, gaining 102 yards on the ground on 12 carries for 8.5 yards per carry.
Defensively, UND was led by Kadon Kauppinen with nine tackles and a half a tackle-for-loss. Marcus Vaughn-Jones, Caden White, Ted Mullin and Devon Krzanowski were all next with seven tackles apiece. C.J. Siegel made the Lumberjacks pay for throwing his way, taking a 50-yard interception to the house early in the second half.
Northern Arizona struck first, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown run from Kevin Daniels to cap a 7-play, 72-yard drive midway through the first quarter. North Dakota responded in the early seconds of the second quarter, connecting on a 38-yard field goal from Stevens to trim the deficit to 7-3.
On the next drive, North Dakota marched down the field but had to settle for a 22-yard Stevens field goal to bring the score to 7-6. A few plays later, Siegel picked off Martinez and took it to the house for a 50-yard pick six to put UND up 13-7 with 9:33 left before the half. Neither team would find the end zone again until the Lumberjacks scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left before intermission to reclaim the 14-13 lead.
Neither team would score in the third quarter, but the Lumberjacks would extend their lead to 17-13 with 13:40 left in the game when Collin Robbins made a 42-yard field goal. The Fighting Hawks reclaimed the lead at 20-17 after an amazing effort from Bo Belquist to find the end zone on an eight-yard reception, not giving up on the play and leapfrogging a defender to score.
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