Pierre Atkinson and the University of Mary defense made big stops against the Minnesota State-Moorhead Dragons all afternoon.

Even though the entire unit spent a considerable amount of time on the field in the second half, Atkinson said all of them had enough energy for another stand.

U-Mary running back Jamal Lomax rushed 2 yards to the right side and stretched the ball over the pylon to give the Marauders the score in overtime.

Atkinson and crew just needed to make one more stand. The result was three incomplete passes and a run for no gain. The defense behind 12 tackles for a loss for 59 yards and seven sacks for 48 yards preserved a 24-17 overtime win Saturday in the "Battle for the Paddle" at the Community Bowl.

"We played as a unit for the first time," said Atkinson, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive lineman. "We had a complete game. We stuck with our game plan. We weren't tired. We run all day at practice. We just kept running and kept going."

Atkinson shined on defense, recording 11 tackles, including 4½ for a loss and three sacks. Teammate Caleb Thompson added eight tackles, a forced fumble and broke up two passes.

Lomax, who rushed for 66 yards, scored his first touchdown of the day with 3:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. The 5-8, 190-pound sophomore scampered up the middle untouched from 5 yards out. Kicker Rett Thibodeaux tied the score at 17 to send the game into overtime.

U-Mary quarterback Jesse Kozak hooked up with wide receiver Roman Penirian for 22 yards to set up Lomax's game-winning touchdown.

"It was a great play call by (offensive coordinator Chris) Fisk,"Kozak said. "They had been playing cover zero and man all game. Finally, we saw a drop off and a little coverage. I had to look one of the safeties off and put it on them. I went from being the goat to the hero in one play."

Kozak completed 11 of 32 passes for 122 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception.

Kozak struggled hitting open receivers, and his receivers had a few drops. Erik Kruse led the Marauders with four receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown, including a 15-yarder at 4:34 in the second quarter to knot the score at 7. Kruse also dropped a touchdown pass.

"It's been frustrating, but these guys are my teammates,"Kozak said. "I'm sure they have frustrations with me as well. You've just got to have a quick memory and just flush it out. Kruse was a little upset about dropping the ball in the end zone. I told him, '… You can be just as mad at me as I am at you for dropping that, but we just have to forget about it.' There were times I missed him when it should have been a touchdown, and I just made a bad throw."

The Dragons had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but kicker Logan Johnson missed a 20-yard field goal wide left with five seconds remaining.

Moorhead had some drives stall because of penalties. The Dragons committed nine infractions for 59 yards.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Wegner also fumbled for a 15-yard loss near Moorhead's goal line. The Dragons also lost a fumble in the second half when Tyrone Small coughed up the ball, and U-Mary defensive lineman James Patterson recovered.

Moorhead coach Damon Tomeo said it was a combination of all those things, and more, that led to the loss.

"We have had quite a few close games,"he said. "This was just another one for us. The (missed field goal). Protection of the QB is something we have to clean up, our running game has to be sound and defensively we have to eliminate big plays."

Both teams struggled in running the ball. Moorhead combined for 36 carries for 34 yards. U-Mary combined for 27 carries for 62 yards.

U-Mary coach Myron Schulz praised his defense.

"We were sitting on a powder keg," Schulz said. "Their receivers are for real. We have little mites running around, and we played with them. The one nice thing about the cold weather is the players can play a little longer and stay fresh."

Thibodeaux kicked a 34-yard field goal in the fourth.

MSUM 7 0 0 10 0 17

U-Mary 0 7 0 10 7 24

First Quarter

MSUM Nick Scharpf 55 pass from Tyler Wegner (Logan Johnson kick), 0:00. (1 play, 55 yards, 0:07).

Second Quarter

U-Mary Erik Kruse 15 pass from Jesse Kozak (Rett Thibodeaux kick), 4:34. (9 plays, 58 yards, 3:56).

Third Quarter

No scoring.

Fourth Quarter

MSUM Scharpf 36 pass from Wegner (Johnson kick), 12:38. (6 plays, 60 yards, 2:04).

U-Mary Thibodeaux 34 field goal, 11:06. (5 plays, 28 yards, 1:23).

MSUM Johnson 22 field goal, 6:14. (11 plays, 51 yards, 4:43).

U-Mary Jamal Lomax 5 run (Thibodeaux kick), 3:07.

Overtime

U-Mary Lomax 2 run (Thibodeaux kick). (4 plays, 25 yards).

Team Statistics

MSUM UM

First downs 25 9

Rushes-yards 36-34 27-62

Passing yards 371 122

Total yards 405 184

Comp.-Att.-Int. 30-58-0 11-32-1

Punts-avg. 7-25 9-35.9

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 9-59 4-45

Individual Statistics

Rushing: MSUM Tim Hanson 11-42, Enol Gilles 11-9, Tyler Wegner 14-(minus) 17. U-Mary Jamal Lomax 17-66, Erik Kruse 1-5, Stefan Klein 1-2, Team 2-0, Roman Penirian 1-0, Brady Martin 1-(minus) 1, Jesse Kozak 4-(minus) 10.

Passing:MSUM Wegner 30-58-0, 371 yards. U-Mary Kozak 11-32-1, 122 yards.

Receiving:MSU-M Nick Scharpf 3-94, Tyrone Small 10-91, Bruce Green 6-80, Jabari Taylor 7-41, Joe Johnson 3-34, Alex Pearson 1-31. U-Mary Kruse 4-57, Penirian 3-48, Martin 1-9, Allen Merrill 1-8, Lomax 1-2, Kozak 1-(minus) 2.

Interceptions:MSUM Maxwell Pryor.

Missed field goals:MSUM Logan Johnson, 20. U-Mary Rett Thibodeaux, 31.

Records:MSUM 1-5 NSIC, 1-6 overall. U-Mary 3-3 NSIC, 3-4 overall.