A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns by Larry Warner solidified a 27-7 lead the Salukis held over the Sioux heading into the final stanza. The first of Warner's TD runs was a 75-yard carry with 12:59 left in the game.

The loss to the 11th-ranked Salukis dropped the Fighting Sioux to 5-3 on the season while SIU improved to 6-2.

For the second game in a row, UND was held to under 100 yards rushing. This time the green and white tallied 20 yards after 42 of their total 62 yards were taken away. Twelve of those yards came in the first half.

SIU finished with 323 yards on foot. UND out-passed SIU 310-159, but the home team won the total yardage battle, 482-330.

QB Danny Freund (Kenosha, Wis.) finished 27-for-36 for a 310-yard passing game with two TD receptions. He was tackled in the backfield a  season-high six times.

The hand of Freund found TE Blair Grover (Mequon, Wis.) midway through the first quarter and then WR Ismael Bamba (Montreal, Quebec) brought down an eight-yard pass in the end zone with 13:15 left to go in the game.

On foot, RB Josh Murray (Pepin, Wis.) was held to 48 yards on seven carries with one end zone appearance. He crossed the goal line at 10:33 in the fourth quarter after diving head first over the oncoming defensemen.

WR Brady Trenbeath (Cavalier, N.D.) led the Sioux offence with 122 yards on 10 receptions. DB Dominique Hawkins (Rockford, Minn.) was second on the team in total yardage with 118 gained on kickoff returns, including a 37-yard run.

Defensively, DB Rory Manke (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) led both sides with a 10-tackle total (9s,1a). Hawkins and LB Ross Cochran (Kenosha, Wis.) both finished with seven tackles. Hawkins had seven solos while Cochran ended with three solos and four assists.

Nine minutes into the first quarter, the Fighting Sioux took 3:07 off the clock on their first drive to move downfield and into a 7-3 lead over the Salukis. SUI scored its three points on a 26-yard, opening drive field goal.

The drive looked as though it would come down to a field goal after two incomplete passes left the Sioux with third-and-five, but Trenbeath held onto a tough pass from Freund and gained the first down.  Two plays later, Freund scrambled from two oncoming defenders with time enough to find Grover on a 24-yard touchdown pass ? Grover's first TD reception of the season.

North Dakota tried an early onside kick to regain possession, but the Salukis recovered to take control on the UND42. Five plays and 1:27 minutes later, SIU's QB Chris Dieker hit Ryan Kernes on the 20-yard pass to take a 10-7 advantage. SIU used is next possession to pad the score even more as a “Dieker Sneaker” from one-yard out lit the board again for the home team and capped the first quarter scoring.

The second stanza was a scoring drought compared to the previous with the only points coming off of a 25-yard field goal at 7:42 by SIU's Kyle Dougherty.

The point famine hovered over the third quarter until just 3:03 remained. Following three consecutive rushes by Warner, RB Richard White took a combined five yards on two carries into the right side of the end zone for SIU's first third-quarter touchdown of the 2008 season.

The Fighting Sioux ended their own scoring silence at 13:15 in the fourth quarter with a five-play, 68-yard scoring drive. The 1:40 possession was capped by an eight-yard touchdown connection from Freund to Bamba. The score was setup by three pass completions for over 10 yards by Freund, including a 25-yard toss to Grover.

The next seven minutes of the game saw a trio of touchdowns, two by SIU's Warner. The first came at 12:59 as Warner took the ball 75 yards to give the Salukis the 33-14 lead. It was the first play of a drive that lasted a short 13 seconds.

Two minutes later, Murray took a 10-yard run up and over the SUI defense for UND's third TD of the afternoon.

Not to let the visiting team have the final say, Warner and the Salukis used a nine-play, 62-yard drive to cross the end zone one final time and take a game final, 40-21 lead.

North Dakota returns to the Alerus Center on Saturday, November 8, for its final home game of the season. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

- Go Sioux -

GAME NOTES: It was Military Appreciation Day at Southern Illinois ... UND's Danny Freund moved into the No. 6 spot in career pass completions and is now tied for the No. 3 spot in career touchdown passes ... Brady Trenbeath moved into the No. 3 spot on UND's career receiving yards list; he bumped down Ron Gustafson (1971-74) ... Rory Manke is just one tackle away from tying his brother, Ryan Manke (2001-04), on UND's all-time career solo tackles list.