MARQUETTE, Mich. – Cyrus Zuell capped off his productive day with an 11-yard jaunt into the end zone to lead Roosevelt to a 16-10 overtime victory over Northern Michigan on Saturday at the Superior Dome for the program's first win as an NCAA Division II program.

Facing one of the two other winless programs in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Lakers relied on Zuell quite a bit Saturday. The senior had his first 100-yard game with the Lakers, rushing 24 times for 121 yards and catching five passes for 35 yards. He scored a pair of touchdowns in the win, barging in from four yards out to give the Lakers (1-5, 1-2 GLIAC) a 10-3 lead in the third quarter then breaking through the line and waltzing in for the winning score in overtime.

Northern Michigan started with the ball first in the extra session and immediately gained eight yards. The Roosevelt defense met the Wildcats in the backfield on second down to set up third and short, and then took advantage of the opponent's miscue. An indecisive moment in Northern Michigan's option offense led to a pitch being thrown behind the running back. Jaylen Olokun swarmed onto the ball, giving the Lakers a chance to win the game with a score in their half.

Knowing a field goal would win, Roosevelt chose to hand the ball to Zuell three times and the Wildcats couldn't slow down the back. He burst through for five yards on first down before getting tripped up by his shoelaces then maneuvered around the defense for nine yards. That set up the handoff on first down and Zuell took one cut toward the middle of the field and outran the Wildcats into the end zone.

The Wildcats got on the board first with a 15-play drive off the opening kickoff that consumed more than half of the first quarter. They had to settle for a field goal and Roosevelt wasted no time marching right back down the field. It took two plays for the Lakers to cross into Northern Michigan territory and they eventually ended up in the red zone. However, Roosevelt failed to convert on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs.

Roosevelt forced a Northern Michigan punt, but it ended up backed up on its own four-yard line to start its next drive. Carson Budke connected with Keonta Nixon for 26 yards to move the Lakers outside the shadow of their own end zone then found Nixon for 36 yards a few plays later to move into the red zone. An untimely penalty forced the Lakers to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Mauricio Escudero to tie the game with three minutes left in the half.

The Lakers nearly took the lead right before halftime when Ladell Allen forced a fumble on Northern Michigan's first play of the subsequent drive. Despite Carlos Conley falling on the ball at the Wildcats 22-yard line, the Wildcats forced a fumble of their own to keep the game tied at halftime.

Zuell was a one-man wrecking crew on Roosevelt's first drive of the second half. He ran for 26 yards on the first play of the half then took off on the third play for 15 yards after a false start penalty. Budke found Nixon for 30 yards to move the Lakers into the red zone and Zuell finished off the drive with a rushing touchdown.

The lead stood until the fourth quarter when Northern Michigan again put together a long drive of more than eight minutes to tie the game. The two teams traded punts, but Roosevelt then had 2:42 to drive for the winning score from its own 5-yard line. The Lakers took the chunk plays where they were available, dialing up screens to Zuell and a long pass to Jacob Biddle over the middle. Unfortunately, the Lakers couldn't get any closer than 32-yard line and Escudero's field goal attempt at the buzzer stayed wide left.

Budke completed 19 of 30 passes for 240 yards with 100 of those going to Nixon on four catches. Alex Tran and Jack Young Jr. both caught three passes each for 28 and 32 yards, respectively. Northern Michigan missed on both of its two passing attempts, marking the first time since a windy day at St. Francis (Ill.) two years ago that the Lakers held an opponent without a passing yard.

Saturday's victory was also the program's first win in overtime since then-Robert Morris (Ill.) defeated Trinity International 34-27 in double overtime on Oct. 15, 2016 in Arlington Heights.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt will look to build off its momentum next week when it hosts Davenport at Morris Field for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Lakers are 0-1 all-time against the Panthers, having played them in Arlington Heights in 2018 with Davenport winning 44-7.