FARGO, N.D.--Ryan Berry came back from an injury to toss a TD pass and two-point conversion with 2:20 left to lift South Dakota State University to a 25-24 victory over No. 24-ranked North Dakota State University in a Missouri Valley Football Conference and Dakota Marker game played before 18,428 in the Fargodome on Saturday, Nov. 22.

It was South Dakota State's first win in Fargo since the 1962 season and first back-to-back victories over North Dakota State since 1960-64 when the Jackrabbits won three and recorded one tie. SDSU claimed the Dakota Marker for the second straight year and hold a 3-2 edge in that portion of the series.

North Dakota State finishes the season 6-5 and 4-4 in the MVFC, while South Dakota State ended the year at 7-5 and 6-2 in conference play.

Shawn Bibeau hit a 39 yard field goal with 6:32 left to put the Bison ahead 24-17. That field goal was set up when Matt Veldman partially blocked a SDSU punt.

Berry, who left the game midway in the first quarter, returned to engineer an eight-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown pass to JaRon Harris. Berry then hit Mike Steffen for the two-point conversion. Berry finished the game 8 of 11 for 80 yards.

Conrad Kjerstad intercepted a pass with 1:57 left to ice the game. The Bison did get one last shot, but a final pass play from Nick Mertens to Kole Heckendorf for 23 yards but the lateral was recovered by SDSU defensive end Eric Schroeder.

South Dakota State led 9-0 until late in the second quarter, taking advantage of three Peter Reifenrath field goals of 41, 40 and 41 yards. The Jackrabbits held the ball for 18 minutes in the first half and held a 35:18 to 24:42 advantage in time of possession.

North Dakota State rallied back. The Bison cut the lead to 9-7 with 3:45 left on a Tyler Roehl 1-yard run that capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive. That series was highlighted by a 31-yard reception by Roehl, who was held to 33 yards on 12 carries.

NDSU had an opportunity to take the lead before halftime but Schroeder blocked Bibeau's 29-yard field goal.

However, the Bison bounced back and took the second half kickoff downfield for a TD. Mertens scored from a yard out and the NDSU lead 14-9. That drive featured a Mertens 32-yard pass to Heckendorf and 24-yard strike to Jerimiah Wurzbacher.

Mertens finished 15 of 27 passing for 239 yards, one TD and one interception. He completed passes to seven different receivers including Heckendorf, who had five receptions for 96 yards. Mertens also rushed eight times for 58 yards. Heckendorf was one of 15 seniors playing their final game in the Fargodome.

South Dakota State came right back, literally. Cole Brodie returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards to the NDSU 23. Six plays later Kyle Minnett tight-roped the sideline eight yards into the end zone after catching a Ryan Crawford pass.

Minnett took the pitch and dashed in for the two-point conversion putting the Jackrabitts ahead 17-14 with 8:39 left. Minnett rushed 22 times for 85 yards.

With the teams responding in rapid fire, Wurzbacher hauled in a 23-yard TD pass from Mertens in a quick drive that was highlighted by Jordan Schultenover 's 40-yard reception. North Dakota State led 21-17 at the 6:33 mark of the third quarter.

Senior linebacker Mike Maresh led the Bison with 12 tackles and shared game-high honors with strong safety Cyrus Lemon, who notched a career-high. Maresh was one of six NDSU players to record a sack.