Decker rally falls short

UNLV quarterback Blake Decker was knocked out of his previous two games, losses to Air Force and BYU.

The blows he took to the hip and to the elbow in those games weren’t even close to the punch in the gut he and the Rebels suffered Saturday night in a last-second 37-35 loss to Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.

Decker, a junior, didn’t start but came off the bench with 12:10 in the fourth quarter to throw three touchdown passes, including two that gave UNLV temporary leads of 28-24 and 35-31, the latter with just 15 seconds to go.

"It was a great football game," Decker said. "We will remember this game. We learned we’re a resilient team. The way it ended, with us scoring and them winning it with one second left, hit us (emotionally) at both ends of the spectrum."

2 wins in a row for UH

It went down to the last second, but Saturday’s dramatic win gave UH back-to-back victories for the second time in Norm Chow’s tenure as head coach.

UH last won consecutive games at the end of Chow’s first season in 2012. The Warriors defeated UNLV 48-10 in the Rebels’ previous appearance at Aloha Stadium. UH then closed the season with a 23-7 win over South Alabama.

The Rainbow Warriors close the season on the road for the first time in the program’s history on Saturday at Fresno State, looking for their first three-game winning streak since 2010. UH ended the regular season that year with wins over San Jose State, New Mexico State and, again, UNLV.

The Rainbows next return to Aloha Stadium on Sept. 5, 2015, against Colorado.

Kemp comes up big

Even before his game-winning grab, Marcus Kemp had a game to remember.

Kemp caught six passes for 114 yards and set up two touchdowns with long completions from Ikaika Woolsey.

With UH trailing 14-7 in the second quarter, Kemp made a one-handed catch while falling on his back for a 26-yard gain to the UNLV 4-yard line. The Rainbow Warriors scored three plays later.

They trailed 28-24 late in the fourth quarter when he ran down a throw along the sideline for a 45-yard completion to the Rebels 7 to set up the go-ahead score with two minutes left. Woolsey went his way again with one second remaining and Kemp’s last catch of the night gave UH the heart-stopping win.

Samia blocks field goal

Moses Samia was happy to have a hand in Hawaii’s victory on senior night.

A very large one.

Samia, the 6-foot-1, 300-pound defensive lineman who has played in every game his senior year, came up with his second blocked kick of the season, thwarting a late field goal to keep the game tied going into halftime.

UNLV swung the momentum after recovering Scott Harding’s second fumbled punt return inside the UH 15 with 2:15 left in the second quarter.

The Rebels settled for a field-goal try with 35 seconds left that was blocked by Samia.

Saving three points was obviously huge in a two-point win.

"I’m just glad that I contributed to the game," Samia said. "I feel like we got the momentum coming back to us when that happened, but we knew it was tied up and the second half would be a brand new ballgame."

Saint Juste breaks loose

Diocemy Saint Juste’s longest run of his career gave UH its first lead of the game.

Saint Juste broke the doldrums in a listless third quarter by taking a handoff to the right while wideout Keelan Ewaliko came around from the left. Instead of handing it off, Saint Juste kept it, turned the corner and raced down the sideline for a 52-yard touchdown run.

His previous long was a 41-yard run at Nevada last year. The burst was also UH’s longest run from scrimmage this season, surpassing Woolsey’s 38-yard runs at Colorado State and in the first quarter on Saturday. Saint Juste finished the night with 81 yards on 11 carries.

Gener back on field

Linebacker Julian Gener gave the Hawaii defense a boost, appearing in a game for the first time since suffering a fractured fibula against Rice and undergoing surgery in early October.

Gener was in on four tackles, including three unassisted.

"I’m dead tired. It’s been six weeks since I played in a football game," Gener said. "But we got the win and that’s what matters."

He also missed most of the 2013 season with an elbow injury. Gener received a medical redshirt for that injury and will return as a senior in 2015.

"Being hurt most of my two years has been frustrating, but I’m really glad I got to be a part of this for the seniors."

TEAM STATISTICS

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

UNLV

HAWAII

TACKLES FOR LOSS-YARDS — UNLV, Peni Vea 3-16, Siuea Vaesau 2.5-9, Tau Lotulelei 2-7, Iggy Porchia 1.5-1, Matt Vinal 1-1. Hawaii, Ne’Quan Phillips 3-22, Trayvon Henderson 2-5, Beau Yap 2-5, TJ Taimatuia 1-4, Jerrell Jackson 1-2.
SACKS-YARDS — UNLV, Peni Vea 1-10, Siuea Vaesau 1-7, Tau Lotulelei 1-5. Hawaii, Ne’Quan Phillips 2-21, TJ Taimatuia 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS — UNLV, Peni Vea 1-12. Hawaii, Marrell Jackson 1-24.
KICKS BLOCKED — UNLV, none. Hawaii, Moses Samia.
QUARTERBACK HURRIES — UNLV, none. Hawaii, Beau Yap 3, Luke Shawley 2, Moses Samia.

FIRST QUARTER

UNLV
» Score: Jared Lebowitz 18 run. Jonathan Leiva kick.
» Time: 12:45. Score: UNLV 7, Hawaii 0.

UNLV
» Score: Shaquille Murray-Lawrence
2 run. Leiva kick.
» Time: 8:10. Score: UNLV 14, Hawaii 0.

HAWAII
» Score: Joey Iosefa 9 run. Tyler Hadden kick.
» Time: 1:27. Score: UNLV 14, Hawaii 7.

SECOND QUARTER

HAWAII
» Score: Harold Moleni 1 pass from Iosefa. Hadden kick.
» Time: 4:33. Score: UNLV 14, Hawaii 14.

THIRD QUARTER

HAWAII
» Score: Diocemy Saint Juste 52 run. Hadden kick.
» Time: 4:41. Score: Hawaii 21, UNLV 14.

FOURTH QUARTER

HAWAII
» Score: Hadden 40-yard field goal.
» Time: 13:24. Score: Hawaii 24, UNLV 14.

UNLV
» Score: Marcus Sullivan 14 pass from Blake Decker. Leiva kick.
» Time: 11:21. Score: Hawaii 24, UNLV 21.

UNLV
» Score: Maika Mataele 13 pass from Decker. Leiva kick.
» Time: 11:21. Score: UNLV 28, Hawaii 24.

HAWAII
» Score: Iosefa 1 run. Hadden kick.
» Time: 2:00. Score: Hawaii 31, UNLV 28.

UNLV
» Score: Taylor Barnhill 7 pass from Decker. Leiva kick.
» Time: 0:15. Score: UNLV 35, Hawaii 31.

HAWAII
» Score: Marcus Kemp 20 pass from Ikaika Woolsey. Run failed.
» Time: 0:00. Score: Hawaii 37, UNLV 35.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

UNLV

HAWAII