BISMARCK, N.D. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team battled back from a 27-point third-quarter deficit to take the lead, but Mary scored a touchdown in the final five minutes to secure a 52-45 win over the Dragons in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Saturday in Bismarck, N.D.

The Dragons fell to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the NSIC North Division with the loss, while Mary -- which regained the Paddle traveling trophy with the win -- improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the north.

MSUM was down 44-17 at one point in the third quarter before scoring 28 unanswered points to take a 45-44 lead with 8:37 left. Mary answered with a 9-play, 70-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 45-yard pass from Zach Roberson to Elby Pope with 4:26 left. MSUM drove into Marauder territory in the final two minutes but turned the ball over on downs.

"We dug a hole, but we responded to adversity well," MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said. "I am really proud of how our players battled back in the second half. Not just to battle back, but to battle back and take the lead. It says a lot about the players we have. We're close; we're just not quite there yet."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Demetrius Carr, making his second career start in place of the injured Jake Hodge, had a huge day running the ball. He finished with 208 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries while also throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Zayne Medhaug rushed for 113 yards and two scores while redshirt freshman Brock Kolander rushed for 58 yards on 13 carries. The Dragons out rushed the Marauders 378-62.

"I thought the offensive line did a good job of controlling the box," Laqua said. "The quarterback did a good job of taking what they gave us. Even when we were in a hole, we were able to keep with the running game and it got us back in it."

Junior linebacker Sheldon Jones and sophomore cornerback Chris Lee each had eight tackles for the Dragon defense. On special teams, freshman Damon Gibson had a blocked punt and return for a touchdown while sophomore Michael Schwichtenberg was a perfect 6-of-6 on extra points while adding a 25-yard field goal.

MSUM scored 17 first-half points but trailed 27-17 at halftime. Carr ran for a 15-yard touchdown in the first quarter while Gibson blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in the second. Schwichtenberg added a 25-yard field goal late in the second to bring the Dragons within 27-17.

Mary scored the first 17 points of the second half and pushed the lead to 44-17 with 10:40 left in the third. From there, the Dragon offense got rolling.

Carr hit sophomore Cory Ambrose for a 62-yard touchdown with 9:39 left to bring the Dragons within 44-24. Later in the third, MSUM went on a 12-play, 90-yard driver -- keyed by 50 rushing yards by Carr and a personal foul on Mary -- and found the end zone when Medhaug scored from two yards out. With the extra point, the Dragons were within 44-31 with 3:27 left.

The Dragon defense forced a three and out and the offense quickly found the end zone again. Medhaug capped off a 7-play, 57-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown. With the extra point, MSUM was within 44-38 late in the third.

MSUM's defense got another stop to start the fourth, and the Dragons went on a long 14-play, 91-yard march -- keyed by a 37-yard pass from Carr to freshman receiver Hunter Braaten -- and scored when Carr ran in from five yards out on a fourth down. Schwichtenberg's extra point put MSUM up 45-44 with 8:37 left.

The Dragon defense forced a fourth down by the Marauders later in the quarter, but Mary successfully executed a fake punt and converted the first down. Two plays later, Roberson hit Pope for the 45-yard score, and with the two-point conversion, Mary was up 52-45.

"The fake punt they converted, that was a big-time momentum changer," Laqua said.

MSUM got into Mary territory on the ensuing but Carr's pass on fourth down fell incomplete.  The Dragons got the ball back in the final seconds at their own 16-yard line but a desperation last play was fumbled to end the game.

MSUM outgained Mary, 566-529. Junior Adam Jiskra had seven catches for 33 yards while Ambrose finished with two catches for 64 yards.

The Dragons play host to Minot State on Nov. 1.

"We need to continue to stay on the path of doing the right things," Laqua said. "We're building the program the right way, we're doing the right things. We have to stay persistent on that path. Eventually we'll see the rewards. It's tough and frustrating when the results aren't coming as soon or as often as we want them to."

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Demetrius Carr became the first Dragon to eclipse the 200 yard rushing mark since Grover Moore ran for 238 in a Dragon 37-27 victory over the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the Metrodome, on Nov. 14, 1998.