The Hawaii football team went back to basics, unleashing a retro run-and-shoot offense that was the most productive of the season.

But the Rainbow Warriors made too many mistakes, and the result was a 41-34 loss to San Diego State at the Ching Complex.

A crowd of 8,296 saw the Warriors commit four turnovers, three of which the Aztecs parlayed into 21 points, in falling to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain West. In ending a four-game losing streak, the Aztecs improved to 3-4 and 1-2.

“It’s annoying,” UH quarterback Brayden Schager said. “It’s ridiculous. I know the fans are probably frustrated. I’m frustrated. The whole team is. I get it. They want to see us win football games. It’s almost worse when it’s this close because we know how good we can be. There’s no reason we couldn’t have won more games than we have this year. It comes down to executing. It comes down to not shooting ourselves in the foot. I think we had (four) turnovers. We can’t do that.”

SDSU safety Deshawn McCuin’s 70-yard return of a Schager interception put the Warriors in a 17-0 hole with 12:25 remaining in the first half.

But with Schager launching passes deep and deeper, the Warriors tied it at 17 with 8:34 left in the third quarter, then went ahead 24-20 when slotback Nick Cenacle turned a corner route into a 69-yard, catch-and-sprint for the first touchdown in his 20-game UH career.

“Ecstatic,” said Cenacle, who grew up in Montreal. “I had a bunch of feelings. I didn’t know what to do, how to react.”

It was the Aztecs who reacted on their ensuing possession. Jalen Mayden, who moved from safety to quarterback a year ago, helped the Aztecs regain the lead — for good — when he found wideout Mekhi Shaw alone at the UH 24. Shaw sprinted the rest of the way to complete the 69-yard scoring play with 13:33 to play.

“I thought that was the turning point,” UH defensive coordinator Jacob Yoro said. “We get them in a third-and-3 situation, called a basic coverage, and we blew it. We gave them a lot of momentum.”

On UH’s next possession, Schager threw to slotback Pofele Ashlock on a slant pattern. Middle linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu ripped the football free from Ashlock’s grip and defensive tackle Keion Mitchell recovered at the UH 24. Three plays later, Lucky Sutton ran 2 yards for his second touchdown of the game, widening the advantage to 34-24 with 12:27 to go.

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After the Warriors closed to 34-31 on Landon Sims’ 1-yard scoring run, the Aztecs’ ensuing drive stalled at the UH 21, with UH taking over on downs. But on second-and-10, with the Aztecs in a three-safety zone and three-man front, head coach Timmy Chang called for a running play. Sims was stopped for a 2-yard gain, at the 23, and Fiaseu pried the football loose. The Aztecs recovered, then drove 23 yards for the touchdown and 41-31 lead with 2:11 to play.

“They held (Sims) up, they ripped it,” Chang said of the fumble. “But that was a good play. That’s what you teach. That’s one for them.”

The Warriors advanced to to the SDSU 30, then opted to kick the field goal. Matthew Shipley’s 47-yarder closed UH within 41-34 with 59 seconds left. The Aztecs recovered Ben Falck’s onside kick, then ran out the clock.

“I apologize to the state,” Chang said of his decision to go for the field goal. “I know they root for us. Kicking the field goal, I know that’s a decision … I play to win. In that situation, with the time and the timeouts, and we needed two possessions. When you look at the situation, the clock’s not on your side. So you try to score as fast as you can. That’s why I kicked the field goal. I apologize to the people out there.”

The Aztecs controlled the battle of field position. The Aztecs started six of their 14 drives in UH territory. That resulted in three touchdowns, a field goal, a missed field goal and the victory formation.

“Regardless of what happens on the field, we’ve got to get stops,” Yoro said. “You take pride in that. Our job is to get stops. Whether it’s 3-point stops or zero points. We failed to do that in the second half. It’s back to the drawing board.”

The Warriors were able to find an offensive rhythm after another ineffective start. They were outscored 10-0 in the opening quarter, and their first four drives ended in punts, including one that was blocked.

Last week, former UH quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison attended practices as a consultant/observer, providing notes to Chang and Schager. The message: Make it simple.

“Coach Dan did a good job of coming in here and helping me out,” Schager said. “He helped in making my mind clear. My mind was clear the whole time.”

In a return to traditional four-wide concepts, Schager was able to complete quick throws on hitches and crossing routes, then go deep to Steven McBride. McBride had catches of 62 and 65 yards to set up scoring plays.

“That’s why they recruited me, to be the deep threat,” said McBride, who had five catches for 157 yards.

Schager finished 29-for-47 for 427 yards and three touchdowns. After being sacked six times in the previous game against UNLV, he was sacked once, on a scramble, on Saturday.

“The kid’s tough,” Chang said of Schager. “He’s going to be fine. This is the start of it. His percentage will go up.”