BOZEMAN, Mont. —  The Mercyhurst football team fell at No. 5/4 Montana State Saturday afternoon in Bozeman, 17-0.

Despite holding the fourth ranked FCS program in the nation under 20 points, the Laker offense couldn't capitalize on their three trips to the redzone.

Montana State (2-2) scored on its first drive of the game, covering 92 yards in 10 plays and concluding with a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Julius Davis at 09:06.

Mercyhurst (1-3) looked poised to respond on its first drive of the game. The Lakers made their way to the MSU 23 yard-line after multiple carries from Ayron Rodriguez and a catch from Joe Kerbacher. On fourth and seven, quarterback Adam Urena found a darting Rylan Davison, who made his way to the endzone, but the scoring play was negated by an offensive pass interference call.

The Bobcats finished the first quarter leading the Lakers, 7-0.

The second quarter began with Montana State extending their lead with a field goal, after a third down stop from the Laker defense at their own four-yard line.

The Laker offense was marching down field once again looking to respond to the MSU scoring drive but couldn't get points on the board. Mercyhurst made its way to the Montana State 18-yard line before the Bobcats forced and recovered a fumble to regain possession. The Lakers' empty possession lasted 12 plays and spanned 65 yards, lasting 6:51 of game time.

As time winded down in the first half, Montana State capitalized, rushing for a 5-yard touchdown, increasing their lead to 17-0.
 
The Lakers went three-and-out on the first dive of the second half, but Chris Thompson came up with a critical interception in the Bobcats endzone on their next drive, stopping them from adding to the lead.
 
Mercyhurst's offensive momentum continued on the following drive with Jameir Gamble's impressive 28-yard rush, setting the stage for multiple fourth-down conversions, including a crucial 10-yard completion to Evans at the end of the quarter, driving deep into the Bobcats' territory.