GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Running back Jer Garman enjoyed a career-day and Reid Taubenheim's 35-yard field with four ticks remaining made sure North Dakota's 15 seniors went home winners in their final home game at the Alerus Center.

Garman rushed 28 times for a career-high 235 yards and two touchdowns, while Taubenheim's third field goal of the day split the uprights and provided UND with a thrilling 30-28 Big Sky victory over No. 22 Northern Arizona Saturday.

The victory allowed UND (4-7, 2-5 BSC) to snap a three-game losing skid and end a four-game winning streak for the Lumberjacks (7-4, 5-2 BSC), who came into the contest controlling their own destiny for the Big Sky's automatic FCS playoff bid. It was the first win over a ranked foe for UND since defeating South Dakota 38-37 in dramatic fashion on Senior Day in 2011.

“I'm so proud of our guys to hang with it,” UND head coach Bubba Schweigert said. “That's a hard way to win when you are up, then get down, but it's a good learning lesson.”

UND dominated the opening half of play to build a 24-7 halftime advantage, but the Lumberjacks have been accustomed to close games all season in league play and would eventually rally to take a 28-27 lead five minutes into the fourth quarter.

NAU's only lead came on a trick play when wide receiver Alex Holmes took a lateral from quarterback Chase
Cartwright and fired a pass to tight end Beau Gardner, who was wide open and trotted in from 58 yards out to make it a 28-27 contest.

The Lumberjacks would force UND to punt on its next two possessions, but the home team's defense would manage to do the same to the NAU offense to keep the comeback hopes alive.

After a touchback on a punt by Ryan Hawkins, true freshman Keaton Studsrud would start the game-winning field goal drive on his own 20-yard line with 2:05.

In a game dominated by the ground game, Studsrud used his arm to move his team into NAU territory. He connected with Josh Seibel on the first play for 14 yards, then after a false start penalty found senior Tyrhe Ivery for 29 yards to get down the 32-yard line.

After losing three yards, Garman then picked up 14 on a 2nd-and-13. That big gain allowed him to set the ball up in the middle of the field on the next play with a 3-yard carry and Taubenheim did the rest from there.

“I was impressed with that last drive,” Schweigert added. “To see a young guy make some plays, then see the (o-line) protect him and then have Reid hit the kick was outstanding.”

NAU tried to keep lateralling the ball on the ensuing kickoff, but sophomore Maverick Edmunds pounced on the loose ball at the NAU 15-yard line to seal the win.

It was all UND in the first half thanks to all three facets of the game. Garman rushed for 124 yards in the opening 30 minutes and his two touchdowns both came on one-play scoring drives for a Green and White offense that churned out a season-high 297 yards on the ground for the game.

Garman's first rushing score came from four yards out after Hawkins could not handle a snap in his own end zone and had to run it out to avoid a safety. His 4-yard scamper put UND ahead 7-0.

Senior Alex Tillman would then return a Hawkins' punt 31 yards to the NAU 46-yard line and a block in the back on the Lumberjacks would tack on 10 more yards of field position.

Studsrud and Garman would cover those 36 yards on the ground in eight plays and the rookie signal caller would cap the drive on a 1-yard sneak to make it a 14-0 contest.

Cartwright would finally get the NAU offense on track, cutting his team's deficit in half after Marquice Pagie scored on a 1-yard run of his own.

Garman had an emphatic answer to Paige's score as he took the opening play of UND's next drive 78 yards, outracing a pair of Lumberjack defenders to quickly put his team back ahead by two touchdowns.

Studsrud completed his only two passes of the first half on the opening drive, then the next 25 plays of the stanza would all be on the ground.

Ten of those rushes came on a drive after senior Spencer Cummings blocked his third kick of the season. This one was a 44-yard attempt by Hawkins, who handled all the kicking for NAU and was the three-time reigning ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week.

After Domo Blackmon returned the blocked kick 34 yards, Garman and company moved the ball down to the NAU 3-yard line, but the offense had to settle for a 21-yard field goal that gave UND its 17-point margin at the break.

That halftime lead could have been less, but redshirt freshman Jake Disterhaupt squelched NAU's ensuing drive deep in UND territory by corralling his first career interception.

Cartwright finished the day 22-for-39 for 316 yards and a touchdown with most of that damage coming in the second half. He led his team to a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to trim the deficit to 24-21 before Taubenheim made a 32-yard field goal three minutes into the final quarter.

Taubenheim's second field goal made it a 27-21 advantage for the home team with 11:57 remaining.

Cartwright completed three straight passes on the next drive before head coach Jerome Souers delved into his bag of tricks to give his squad the lead on Holmes' 58-yard scoring strike.

Studsrud finished 4-for-11 for 61 yards through the air and added 32 on the ground, including his first career rushing score. Senior Adam Shaugabay also had eight carries for 24 yards.

UND closes out its season next Saturday at Northern Colorado. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT.

GAME NOTES: Game captains were seniors Dwayne Pecosky and Alex Tillman along with juniors Brandon Anderson and Will Ratelle … The victory was the first for UND in the fifth meeting of a series with NAU that dates back to 1967 ... Ratelle had five tackles to become the first player since Digger Anderson in 2004 to record 100 tackles in a season … Ratelle now has 102 on the campaign … Jer Garman's 225 yards rushing tied him with Ryan Chappell for 10th-place on UND's single-game rushing charts and set a Division I single-game record … The last UND running back with a 200-yard game prior to today was Josh Murray (219 vs. Western Washington; 10/18/2008) … Garman's 28 carries were also a career-high and his two touchdowns equaled his career-high (three times) … Redshirt freshman Jake Disterhaupt had the first two sacks of his career and first interception of his career … The defense had five sacks in the first half and finished with six for the game … UND's 17-point advantage at halftime was its largest lead of any point this season and the team's 30 points were a season-high … True freshman Reid Taubenheim made three kicks in a game for the second time this season and is now 12-for-15 on the season (seven straight makes).

-- UND --