MONTREAL — Jose Maltos Diaz kicked two fields and a single with just under three minutes left in the final quarter as the Montreal Alouettes beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-18 in front of 21,014 fans at Percival Molson Stadium on Sunday.

Trailing 18-17 late in the game, Alouettes linebacker Alexandre Gagné blocked Hamilton punter Mitch McCarthy’s kick, giving Maltos Diaz prime field position deep in the Hamilton zone. He kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Alouettes a 20-18 lead.

Maltos Diaz added another field goal less than a minute later from 46 yards out, his third in as many tries during the game.

Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander was 21-for-29, throwing for 187 yards in the win. Alexander also threw his first interception of the season late in the first half. The American had not thrown a pick in a CFL-record 356 regular-season passing attempts, a mark he set just last week.

Short-yardage quarterback Terry Wilson scored a pair of touchdowns from the one-yard line in his Montreal debut.

Wilson signed with Montreal on July 6 after spending the past two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Running back Travis Theis scored a touchdown with 24 seconds remaining on the clock to seal the win for Montreal. He also rushed for 156 yards, his second consecutive 100-plus rushing yard game of the season.

DeVonte Dedmon, playing in his first game of the season, accounted for 100 yards off kick returns for the Alouettes.

Montreal (6-1) won its fourth straight home game and moved six points ahead of both Hamilton (3-4) and Toronto atop the East Division standings. The win also gave the Alouettes the season-series and tiebreaker, should both teams finish with the same record at the end of the regular season.

Tiger-Cats quarterback Tre Ford completed 15 of his 23 pass attempts for 164 yards and a touchdown. He was also intercepted once. Ford also rushed for an additional 24 yards and was sacked three times in the contest.

The 28-year-old Niagara Falls, Ont., native started his second straight game for the Tiger-Cats following an ankle injury to starter Bo Levi Mitchell earlier this month that required surgery.

Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made his lone field goal attempt from 46 yards.

Montreal found itself in the red zone on their opening drive of the game, thanks to a 33-yard kickoff return by Dedmon and consecutive 20-plus yard rushes by Theis. The Alouettes, however, were forced to settle for a 17-yard Maltos Diaz field goal.

The Tiger-Cats responded in a big way thanks to their special teams’ unit.

Isaiah Wooden Sr. returned Joseph Zema’s punt 100 yards for his first touchdown of the season that gave Hamilton the lead. It was the first punt return touchdown given up by Montreal since Aug. 4, 2022.

The Alouettes regained the lead early in the second quarter following an 11-play drive that began at Montreal’s own nine-yard line. It culminated in a one-yard score by Wilson.

Hamilton wasted little time getting on the board to begin the second half, as Ford found wide receiver Kenny Lawler for a 33-yard touchdown pass that gave Hamilton the lead.

The lead would prove to be short-lived, however, thanks to Hamilton’s lack of discipline. The Tiger-Cats took back-to-back penalties for a total of 31 yards, including a 21-yard roughing infraction by linebacker Wynton McManis that led to his ejection.

With the ball placed at the Montreal one-yard line, Wilson once again ran the ball into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

Liegghio added a field goal late in the third quarter.

Tiger-Cats: Host the Calgary Stampeders (3-4) on Saturday.

Alouettes: Visit the Ottawa Redblacks (0-6) on Friday.