BUTTE — In a game that featured plenty of defensive highlights, it was No. 21 Montana Tech’s offense that secured a 29-22 victory over No. 3 ranked Georgetown (Ky.) on Thursday at Bob Green Field.

After Georgetown took a 22-21 lead with a 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion with under two minutes left, Tech quarterback Blake Thelen connected for a 31-yard touchdown pass with Wyatt Alexander, capping an eight-play drive that covered 75 yards.

It was Alexander’s only catch of the game and it set up what would go down as one of the program’s greatest victories.

“I ran the route, saw Blake looking my way, he threw it up and my job as a receiver was to get it,” Alexander said. “That’s what happened. I couldn’t have had a better quarterback throwing it to me. See the ball, go up and get it and get it in the end zone.”

Thelen completed three passes on the drive for 64 yards. He finished the game 13 of 26 passing for 134 yards and one TD, as Tech relied heavily on its ground game.

Landers Smith carried the ball a whopping 34 times for the Orediggers, collecting 201 yards and two touchdowns — a 2-yard score in the first quarter that tied the score at 7-7 and a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter to give Tech a 21-7 lead.

But Smith also committed two fumbles in the game, with the defenses calling the shots for much of the game.

The Orediggers intercepted Georgetown quarterback Gehrig Slunaker four times, with Jadyn Downs grabbing three interceptions, including one in the second quarter, which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown to give Tech a 14-7 halftime lead.

Georgetown pulled back to 21-14 late in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Slunaker, with the Tigers taking the lead late in the fourth quarter.

As the Diggers tried to seal the game and drive in for what looked like the go-ahead touchdown, Georgetown’s Justin Richards picked off a fumble from Smith at the 5-yard line and ran it back the other way for the score. The two-point conversion made it 22-21 Georgetown with 1:42 to play.

That gave Thelen and the Tech offense plenty of time, who quickly raced down the field and scored the decisive touchdown with 12 seconds left on the clock.

“The fighting spirit that the guys showed, the ability to respond to adversity, what a crazy game,” Tech head coach Kyle Samson said. “There were some unfortunate mistakes. But in a critical situation, our guys stepped up and made the plays. I think that’s the sign of a really solid team and a really well-coached team.

“Our big players stepped up and made themselves heard when we needed them.”

Tech (1-0) plays Frontier Conference rival Carroll College (0-0) next week.