The Basics
--Score: Hawai'i 28, ULM 26
--Records: ULM (1-11, 0-7 SBC), Hawai'i (3-10, 0-8 MW)
--Location: Aloha Stadium – Honolulu, Hawai'i)
--Attendance: 21,284
How It Happened
--ULM got a major break late, as the 3rd-and-10 snap from Hawai'i on its own 17 sailed wide of the quarterback and Lorenzo Jackson fell on the fumble in the end zone to make it a 28-26 game with 3:03 to play. The two-point conversion pass to Harley Scioneaux was incomplete by the smallest of margins. The previous ULM drive had seen the Warhawks march 65 yards on 12 plays, but it fell just short at the Hawai'i 17 via a turnover on downs.
--Hawai'i was pinned deep into its own territory on its first drive. A muffed punt at midfield gave the Rainbow Warriors the ball back. Paul Harris ran it all six plays of the next drive, capping it off with a 12-yard carry into the end zone that made it a 7-0 game with 8:52 to play in the first quarter.
--ULM bounced back with three more points. Ben Luckett busted through the middle for a 26-yard run on the first play, carrying defenders to the midfield logo. Scioneaux added a wide-open 20-yard reception that got ULM into the red zone, and Craig Ford nailed the 30-yard field goal.
--The Rainbow Warriors got their second touchdown midway through the second quarter. Ikaika Woolsey found Marcus Kemp on a 33-yard cross that put the ball at the Warhawk 21. Harris got across the line from one yard out to up the Hawai'i lead to 14-3 with six minutes to play before intermission.
--Hawai'i extended its lead to 21-3 with 2:12 to go in the first half. Harris had back-to-back 10 and 27-yard runs to start the drive, and Woolsey hit Harold Moleni for a five-yard touchdown pass.
--Earnest Carrington made several big plays happen to end the first half, and ULM cut the deficit to 21-10 with 24 seconds left. A nine-yard first-down pass to Marcus Green also included a 15-yard penalty for face mask that moved the ball down to the 28. Xavier Brown then hauled in a 12-yard first-down catch as ULM faced a 4th-and-4 from the 22. A pass interference call on the next play moved the ball to the 3, where Brown went way upstairs for a leaping grab in front of the goal post.
--Hawai'i started the second half with a nine-play, 78-yard drive that ended on a Woolsey six-yard scoring run to the pylon. It was set up by a Harris 25-yard run on the previous play. That score made it a 28-10 ballgame with 11:34 to go in the third.
--ULM answered with a solid 10-play, 66-yard march that ended with Ford's 25-yard field goal. Green had three catches for 50 yards on the drive. The deficit was cut to 28-13 eight minutes into the half.
--The momentum continued to shift the Warhawk way after Hawai'i was forced to punt on the ensuing possession. Carrington scrambled for a 30-yard run down a wide-open middle of the field that gave ULM a first down at the Hawai'i 18. Two plays later, Ajalen Holley broke away from the defense for a 13-yard touchdown catch with two feet inbounds in the endzone. It sliced the Warhawk deficit to 28-20 with 3:42 to play in the third quarter.
Inside (and Beyond) The Box Score
--ULM captains: Harley Scioneaux (offense), Hunter Kissinger (defense), Alex Johnson (special teams).
--Hawai'i captains: Julian Gener, Ben Clarke.
--Hawai'i won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
--The 26 first downs were the most for ULM since the Nicholls State win in the second game of the season.
--Hawai'i had eight completions in 16 attempts, marking the fourth time ULM held its opponent to 50 percent or less.
--The seven third-down conversions were the most for ULM since the Tulsa game. The Warhawks (2-3) also had multiple fourth-down conversions for the third game of the year.
--The seven-point second half for Hawai'i was the third time in the last four games that the Warhawk opponent scored single-digits after the break.
--Earnest Carrington's 30-yard run was the longest by a ULM quarterback since Kolton Browning's 39-yard dash against Auburn in the second game of the 2012 season.
--Carrington finished the night with 27 completions on 44 attempts. He also had two touchdowns and no turnovers. He has increased his completion total by 11 each of the past two games and had 19 and 33 attempts in succession heading into Saturday.
--ULM forced a punt on its first defensive drive. It's the 10th time of the season that an opponent either kicked or turned it over to begin the game.
--Marcus Green (12 catches, 103 yards) had his second-career double-digit catch and triple-digit receiving yards game of his career.
--Xavier Brown's touchdown grab was the first of his career.
--Cody Robinson's 11-yard sack on a 3rd-and-8 for Hawai'i was the first for the linebacker since the Texas A&M game in 2014.
--ULM had three defenders (Hunter Kissinger, Gerrand Johnson and Wesley Thompson) record 11 tackles on the night.
--Johnson's 11 tackles were a season-high and one off a career-best, and the redshirt-freshman Thompson set a new personal mark.
--Ben Luckett's 26-yard dash on ULM's second drive was his second-longest of the season.
--Harley Scioneaux had his second three-catch game of the season and a season-high 47 yards receiving.
--Chris Qualls' 58-yard punt in the second quarter was a personal-best. He also had a career-high 43.8-yard punt average.
--Markis McCray had his first career kickoff return.
Up Next
--The Warhawks will conclude their season with Senior Day festivities on Saturday. Kickoff against the New Mexico State Aggies will be at 2 p.m. in Malone Stadium.
