The University of Regina Rams held a late two-score lead, but couldn't hang on as UBC battled back for a 31-29 overtime victory on a rare Friday afternoon game at Leibel Field.

It was a season-saving comeback for UBC as the Thunderbirds needed a win to secure the fourth and final Canada West postseason bid. They'll travel right back to the province of Saskatchewan next weekend, this time to Saskatoon where they'll meet the first-place U of S Huskies in one of the conference's semifinal games. The Rams will host Manitoba next Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in the other semifinal.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Rams scored on the game's opening drive. Quarterback Owen Sieben completed all four of his passes, Marshall Erichsen rushed 3 times for 35 yards, and Noah Pelletier came in as the short-yardage pivot and finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge.
• Sieben's offence had an extended 14-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the second quarter which saw the Rams convert twice on third-down situations and take a full 7:55 off the clock before Rylan Sokul got into the end zone with his second touchdown catch of the season. That put the Rams up 16-3, but UBC took advantage of good field position after a 39-yard kickoff return by Shemar McBean. UBC's Drew Viotto hit Trey Montour for a 10-yard touchdown to get the visitors within six points.
• The Rams added another point just before halftime when Isaac Wegner hammered the 10th longest punt in U of R history. His 71-yard bomb out of the back of the end zone went for a rouge, putting Regina up 17-10 at the break.
• UBC opened up the second half with a field goal, but Regina extended the lead when Sieben hit Alex Gagnon for a three-yard touchdown on what was the linebacker-turned-fullback's first career reception.
• The Rams added another field goal and then a single off a missed field goal to make the score 28-13 with 3:14 to go, but the Thunderbirds then went to work on their wild comeback. Viotto twice converted on 3rd-and-10 situations with passes to Trey Montour, then hit McBean for a 22-yard touchdown to draw UBC to within eight. 
• UBC then recovered the onside kick after Alexander Hillyard's kick caromed off a Rams player and right back to the first-year kicker. Viotto proceeded to complete five consecutive passes with the final one going to Montour for a 21-yard touchdown, then hit Montour again for the successful two-point conversion which sent the game to overtime.
• UBC won the toss and gave the Rams the ball first in overtime. Ty Gorniak's 35-yard field goal attempt missed left on Regina's possession, and Hillyard split the uprights from 31 yards out to complete the 31-29 victory for the Thunderbirds.

ERICHSEN BECOMES U OF R'S FIRST 1000-YARD RUSHER

• During the first half, Erichsen became the first U of R player ever to hit the 1000-yard mark in rushing yards in a single year.
• Erichsen finishes the Canada West schedule with 1026 rushing yards and 11 touchdown runs, both of which go into the books as University of Regina single-season records.
• The third-year running back leads Canada West and is second in all of U SPORTS to only Western's Ethan Dolby in both rushing yards and touchdown rushes.
• Erichsen also caught a touchdown pass earlier this season, giving him a total of 12 TDs scored. That's second in U of R history only to Jason Clermont's 14 during the 2001 campaign. His 72 points scored are the fifth most by a U of R player in one season.
• Through three seasons with the Rams, Erichsen has accumulated a total of 2004 career rushing yards. Only Atlee Simon (3295) and Neal Hughes (2934) have more with the U of R.

ON TARGET

• Sieben completed 26 of his 33 pass attempts, ending up with a total of 238 passing yards and touchdowns to both Sokul and Gagnon.
• His 78.8% completion percentage is tied for the second highest in a game in U of R history, trailing only Noah Pelletier's 26-for-31 performance from last season's home win over Saskatchewan and matching Noah Picton's 26-for-33 outing in a 2015 game.

SIRLEAF LEADS RECEIVERS

• Nicholas Sirleaf finished as the team's leading receiver, catching 8 passes for a total of 55 yards.
• Sirleaf completes the Canada West schedule with 55 receptions, tied with Addison Richards' 2014 season for the third most in program history. The only U of R players to have more catches in a single season are Ryan Scheinbein — who had a school-record 60 in 2018 — and Mitchell Picton, who had 58 back in 2016.
• The second-year wide receiver ranks second in Canada West and seventh in the nation with 710 receiving yards this season.

THROUGH THE AIR

• UBC ran the ball only 11 times all game, relying almost completely on the passing game headed by Viotto.
• Viotto completed 34 of his 52 pass attempts for a total of 423 yards, and UBC got an additional 29-yard completion from Kinsale Philip to Jeff Curtis on a fake punt.
• Montour finished with 11 catches for 157 yards while McBean had 9 receptions for 134 yards. Edgerrin Williams-Hernandez added 7 catches for a total of 72 yards.

DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS

• Toryn Swystun-Bernes had the lone sack of the game for the Rams, bringing down Viotto for a seven-yard loss in the second quarter.
• Jacob Tkachuk had his first interception of the season (and the third of his Rams career) late in the third after having another pick negated by a pass interference penalty earlier in the quarter.
• Chase Murray, Ryan Mills, Carson Sombach, and Tkachuk were all credited with pass breakups.