GRAND FORKS, ND — All the momentum Montana had built was gone and a tale of two halves resulted in a painful loss for the fourth-place Grizzlies.

North Dakota erased a 17-point second-half deficit to beat Montana 27-24 in a showdown of the top 25 FCS teams at the Alerus Center. The 23rd-ranked Fighting Hawks dominated the second half thanks to a consistent ground attack, second-half TDs by quarterbacks Simon Romfo and Gaven Ziebarth and a pair of fourth-quarter field goals by C.J. Elrichs.

Elrichs’ 40-yard kick with 2:16 left put UND ahead 27-24, and a final possession by the Grizzlies resulted in a missed 55-yard field goal try by Ty Morrison.

Montana led 24-7 at halftime. Three consecutive touchdown drives by the Griz in the first half gave them a significant advantage.

Xavier Harris, one of the heroes of last week’s win against Missouri State, had a 37-yard touchdown catch and Eli Gillman broke loose for a 63-yard scoring run. Finally, Aaron Fontes took an 18-yard end-around to the end zone, giving UM a 21-7 lead.

A 30-yard field goal by Morrison near the end of the first half extended the Grizzlies’ lead to 17 points.

But things changed dramatically in the second half when UND’s defense forced three straight three-and-outs and the Fighting Hawks’ offense asserted itself on the ground. Ziebarth’s 2-yard TD run in the third cut UND’s deficit to 24-14. Romfo then broke through the middle for a 19-yard scoring run (after dropping the snap) to make it 24-21 late in the third.

The Grizzlies’ inability to move the chains on subsequent possessions set up Elrichs’ two fourth-quarter field goals, both of which were crucial. On the winning drive, UND converted fourth-and-1 and third-and-11 plays to keep the possession alive.

“They did a good job, but it wasn’t good enough for us,” head coach Bobby Hauck said in a UM press release. “We had the game under control, I thought we were in the right frame of mind coming out of halftime and they got a big stop and we just didn’t execute and got a bunch of first downs.”

“It was a wild game, well done by North Dakota coming back and getting us,” Hauck said. “But you know, I really think we’re the enemy and that starts with me, certainly. We can’t beat them like that in the first half and then not be able to get a first down in the second half, that’s ridiculous.”

Turning point: Both of North Dakota’s aforementioned conversion plays were significant. First, facing fourth-and-1, Quincy Vaughn dove over the midfield line with a 240-pound weight — with a little shove from his teammates — to move the chains. Later, Romfo beat a Griz blitz with a pass to Nate Demontagnac for 12 yards on third-and-11.

It all led to Elrichs’ final attempt, which gave UND the winning points with 2:16 left on the clock.

Statistics of the game: Several numbers didn’t go Montana’s way, especially in the second half. The Grizzlies managed just one first down in the final 30 minutes, a 32-yard scramble by QB Keali’I Ah Yat on UM’s final drive. Otherwise, the Grizzlies were sacked six times and outscored 243 to 160 on the ground.

Grizzly game balls: S Chrisshawn Gordon (defense). For a unit that was on the field far too much in the second half, Gordon stood out, making seven total tackles (six solo) with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup.

What’s next?:Montana, now 1-1, returns home next Saturday to play its third nonleague game of the schedule against Morehead State of the Pioneer Football League.

Morehead State is located in Morehead, Kentucky. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Grizzlies and the Eagles. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.