FARGO, ND--North Dakota State rallied for 17 points in the fourth quarter to snap a two-game losing streak and record a 45-38 win over South Dakota State before a homecoming crowd of 13,040 here Saturday afternoon.

The win kept NDSU alive in the North Central Conference grid race. The Bison improved to 3-2 in the league and 5-2 overall.

NDSU came up big on defense and special teams in this game, scoring twice on pass interceptions and coming up with a blocked punt for a third touchdown.

Freshman corner Matt Gorman got the Bison off on the right foot with a 51-yard interception return in the opening four minutes of the game. The Bison got a 64-yard TD run from All-American runningback Lamar Gordon late in the first quarter to snap a 7-7 time and moved to a 21-7 lead when Mike Sheppard blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

Gordon scored again late in the second quarter on a 37-yard pass from Graig Gorder and the Bison had a 28-14 lead. However, SDSU countered to take a 31-28 lead late in the third quarter and the Bison had to come back to avoid a third straight loss for the first time in five years.

Aaron Pederson's 46-yard field goal tied the game just a minute and a half into the four quarter and moved into the lead for good just a minute later when junior corner Nate Keller picked off a pass at the Jacks' 28-yard line and returned it for a TD.

DeShawn Perkins, filling in for an injured Gordon who left the game in the third quarter with an ankle twist, broke up the middle for an 11-yard TD with 9:38 left. It proved to be the winning points.

SDSU nearly came back in the final nine minutes, getting a 61-yard TD pass from Dan Fjeldheim to Josh Buchholtz to cut the gap to 45-38. The Jacks then drove to the Bison 23 with 10 seconds left in the game. After a bad snap forced a 14-yard loss with three seconds left, NDSU senior safety Travis Sturdevant knocked down a hail-Mary pass in the end zone on the final play.

South Dakota State's Josh Ranek moved into 7th place on the all-time career rushing chart in the NCAA Division II ranks as his 254 yards in 26 attempts upped his career rushing yards to 6,106 yards. He scored twice on the ground and also caught a TD pass.

NDSU's Gordon ran for 135 yards, his 31st 100-yard game in the last 36 contests, on just 12 carries, scoring once on the ground and once in the air.

SDSU's Kris Garry hauled in 11 passes for 96 yards to lead all receivers.

SDSU fell to 2-3 in the NCC and 3-5 overall.