Box Score For the University of Minnesota Duluth it was a case of too little, too late Saturday afternoon in its NCAA Division II second-round playoff clash at Northwest Missouri State University.

The No. 5 Bulldogs dug themselves a 31-0 third-quarter hole and, despite a late rally, wound up falling 45-21 to the No. 2 ranked Bearcats before a crowd of 4,514 in Maryville, Mo.  UMD, appearing in the NCAA II postseason for a sixth straight year, concluded the year at 11-2 overall. The Bearcats, who moved to 12-0, will host St. Cloud State University next Saturday in the Super Region Three final.

"We gave up a couple of big defensively and offensively we couldn't stay on the field," said Bulldog head coach Curt Wiese. "Our third down execution was bad and not being able to run the ball effectively didn't help us either."

Quarterback Trevor Adams threw for four touchdowns, including a pair to Clint Utter, while helping Northwest Missouri State build a 31-0 lead through three quarters. The Bulldogs reeled off 21 points in the opening nine minutes of the fourth quarter, getting a one-yard touchdown run from junior running back Austin Sikorski, a 48-yard pick-six from senior inside linebacker Colby Ring, and a nine-yard scoring strike from freshman quarterback Drew Bauer to junior wide out Zach Zweifel. The interception return for a touchdown was the second of the year for Ring and the fourth by the Bulldogs, equaling a team record. Northwest Missouri State's Brady Boiles put the game on ice and handed the Bulldogs only their six loss in 18 lifetime NCAA II playoff game by running for two short touchdowns in the final 3:31 of regulation.

"We were able to put a couple of drives together in the fourth quarter and gain a little bit of momentum," said Wiese. "Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough in the end."

The Bearcats, who came into the day with the eighth best defense in the NCAA II (285.5 yards per game), held UMD to 260 total yards on the afternoon -- its lowest output since Oct. 29, 2011 (242 yards in a 35-7 loss at St. Cloud State) -- and just 98 yards on the ground. That was 205 yards below the Bulldogs' season average. The Bearcats finished with just 91 rushing yards but passed for 334. Adams was picked off three times, twice by backup freshman cornerback Hunter Malberg in the opening nine minutes of play.

Bauer rushed 20 times for a team-high 43 yards, with 33 of that total coming on a fourth-quarter run, while Sikorski ground out 21 yards on 13 carries to conclude the year with the fifth-highest single-season rushing harvest ever turned in by a Bulldog (1,260 yards). Bauer went 13-of-31 for 138 yards through the air with one interception and was sacked seven times.

The loss marked the end of the line for 20 UMD seniors, including senior offensive tackle Tom Olson, who started in his 54th consecutive game (tying him with his former linemate Garth Heikkinen for the top spot on the school's ironman charts) and also attempted, and completed, his first collegiate pass, on a fake punt in the second quarter, hitting Tyler Smrcina for a 24-yard gain.

"For the seniors, it's been the best five years of our lives," said Ring, who had a team-high nine total tackles giving him 284 stops for his career -- the third highest total in Bulldog history.  "Obviously, it would have been nice to go out with a national championship, but I have no regrets. I told our younger guys after the game to keep the tradition going here and never take anything for granted."

Click here to view the postgame press conference.