Hawaii running back Diocemy Saint Juste went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with his fourth 100-yard performance of the year in the Rainbow Warriors’ 52-35 Hawaii Bowl victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Aloha Stadium.

Saint Juste capped his junior season by rushing for 170 yards on a season-high 25 carries to raise his season total to 1,006.

Saint Juste’s performance is the fifth highest in Hawaii Bowl history and set a UH postseason record. He also gave UH a 1,000-yard rusher for the second straight year and the 10th time in program history.

“It means a lot to me and this organization,” Saint Juste said of the bowl win. “We really dealt with a lot of adversity this year, and just for us to come up with a win boosts our confidence going into next year.”

Saint Juste broke off six runs of at least 10 yards, with a long of 26, while averaging 6.8 yards per attempt, with some of his big runs coming behind tackle Dejon Allen and John Wa’a on the left side of the offensive line.

“I have to give a lot of respect to (the offensive line), because they really did their thing today,” said Saint Juste, who ran for 292 yards over the final two games of the season.

Senior Paul Harris, who ran for 1,132 yards last year, finished with 568 in a backup role and ran for 31 yards on four attempts in his final game.

Defense turns the tide

Freshman linebacker Ikem Okeke sparked UH’s comeback from a 14-0 deficit by forcing a fumble on a sack of Brent Stockstill in the first quarter. Dru Brown’s touchdown pass on the next play ignited a run of 28 unanswered points.

Cornerback Jalen Rogers intercepted his fourth pass of the season on MTSU’s next possession. Safety Trayvon Henderson returned a pick 68 yards for UH’s first touchdown return since Julian Gener’s score against Oregon State in 2013.

Stockstill had thrown just five interceptions in 363 attempts in the regular season.

UH ends bowl skid

UH snapped a three-game bowl losing streak and moved above .500 in bowl games at 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Hawaii Bowl. UH lost its previous three bowl appearances by an average of 28.7 points since beating Arizona State in the 2006 Hawaii Bowl.

“It’s an amazing feeling to go from the seasons we’ve had to a championship season,” said senior receiver Marcus Kemp.

Kemp caught three passes for 64 yards and scored on a 39-yard reception the first time the ball came his way. He finished his career ninth in UH history with 2,120 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Lighting it up early

UH and MTSU combined to tie a Hawaii Bowl record with 56 total points in the first half.

UH’s 35-point outburst also set a bowl record for first-half scoring and was the program’s most productive opening half against an FBS opponent since scoring 35 against Washington State in 2009.