CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Southern Utah quarterback Ammon Olsen accounted for five touchdowns as he led the Thunderbirds to a 35-17 victory over North Dakota in Big Sky play Saturday on a windy day at Eccles Colisuem.

The T-birds (2-7, 2-2 BSC) were in control at halftime, holding a 21-3 advantage, but a strong start to the second half by UND (3-5, 1-3 BSC) made things interesting into the fourth quarter.

UND's second-half spark was aided by a pair of touchdown drives that were led by back-up quarterback Ryan Bartels and capped by Jer Garman rushing scores to make it a 21-17 contest early in the final stanza. Garman finished with his first 100-yard rushing game of his career, carrying a career-high 25 times for 102 yards.

The UND defense would hold SUU to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but the home team was able to make the first turnover of the game by either team a costly one. Chinedu Ahanonu, the Big Sky's leading tackler, picked off a Bartels pass and raced it back for an apparent touchdown, but his return was called by due to a personal foul penalty.

Olsen made UND pay on the first play from scrimmage though as he found Mike Sharp on a screen pass and the receiver did the rest of the work, covering 37 yards for a touchdown.

“I'm just disappointed for the first time this year,” UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said. “We did not have the right energy level and that competitive spirit to make plays.”

UND would get inside SUU territory again, but facing a 4th-and-4 from the 46-yard line with just over 10 minutes to play, Schweigert opted to punt and play defense. Unfortunately, after a fair catch at their own 13-yard line, the T-Birds would turn a short pass into a big gain once again. This time Raysean Pringle took a swing pass from the BYU transfer on a check-down route 87 yards to put the game out of reach at 35-17 with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.

Olsen finished with four passing touchdowns and a rushing score as SUU snapped a three-game Big Sky losing skid. Bartels finished 23-of-44 for 297 yards after replacing an injured Joe Mollberg for the second week in a row.

“I thought we threw the ball pretty well (to start the second half) and made some big plays in the run game. Kyle (Norberg) popped one there on short yardage and gave us some life,” Schweigert added. “We had some opportunities to get turnovers and just missed, but we got back in it and when you get back in it, you have to continue to keep making plays. It's a one-play-at-a-time deal and we let it slip away. I felt like we didn't do anything to keep the momentum going.”

Olsen went 14-for-15 for 139 yards and threw two scores and rushed for one more as SUU jumped out to that 18-point advantage at the break. SUU took the momentum and never relinquished it in the opening 30 minutes after stopping running back Kyle Norberg on a fourth-down attempt from the T-Birds' 43-yard line.

Olsen then marched SUU down the field on a nine-play, 58-yard drive that he capped with a four-yard pass to Naia Ursua to put the home team on the scoreboard.

UND got points out of its next drive, but lost Mollberg for the game in doing so. He was sacked on second down of the ensuing drive and did not return. Bartels relieved him and drove the visitors down to the SUU 13-yard line, but the team had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Reid Taubenheim.

SUU would have to punt on its next possession, but the T-Birds' defense would come up big again. With UND lined up in punt formation facing a 4th-and-1 from its own 29-yard line, freshman Brandon Dranka took a direct snap from his up-back position, but was held to no gain giving the ball back to the home team.

It only took Olsen three plays to find the end zone this time as he scored with his legs this time on a 4-yard rush. That made the score 14-3 in favor of SUU.

After UND was held to a three-and-out and punted for the first time, Olsen again drove his team down and fired his second touchdown pass of the game to Mitch Jessop from just two yards out. His squad converted a pair of 3rd-and-10 plays on the drive to push its lead to 21-3 contest.

GAME NOTES: Game captains werer seniors Dwayne Pecosky and Alex Tillman along with juniors Brandon Anderson and Will Ratelle … After not registering a catch in the first six games, redshirt freshman Josh Seibel had his second-consecutive game with nine grabs … Seibel's nine catches led the team as did his career-high 96 receiving yards … Junior tight end added four catches for a career-high 87 yards … Senior Jer Garman posted the first 100-yard rushing game of his career and first for a UND back since Jake Miller opened the 2013 season vs. Valparaiso with 108 yards … Senior Adam Shaugabay returned from injury and saw his first action since the Missouri State game (Sept. 15) … Ratelle and classmate Dayo Idowu led the team with six tackles.

-- UND --