Final Stats

HONOLULU, Hawaii - Ben Scott threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns, Chris Martin posted his second straight 100-yard receiving game, and the Aggies' defense kept UC Davis within striking distance through a spirited first half before Hawai'i pulled away after halftime for a 47-27 nonconference football win before 22,738 fans at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.

The loss keeps UC Davis looking for its first win of the season while dropping it to 0-3. Hawai'i, which was led by Max Wittek's 272 passing yards and a school-record 95-yard TD run by Paul Harris, improved to 2-1.

Manusamoa Luuga had career-highs in carries (25) and yards (89), keying a solid rushing attack that gained 169 yards. That complemented Scott's night which saw him complete 18 of 25 passes while hitting fullback Derek Baljeu for an 8-yard strike in the second quarter and Martin for a big 69-yard play in the fourth.

Martin, who had 121 receiving yards in last week's loss to South Dakota, caught four balls on Saturday for a career-best 123 yards. His long TD reception came one week after he had a 75-yarder against the Coyotes.

Safety Ryan Parenteau led the Aggies with six tackles, defensive tackle Kyle DeVaughn and linebacker Ryan Bua each had sacks, and linebacker Travon Brooks blocked a PAT to lead the defense which allowed just 13 points in the first half and helped the Aggies only trail by three at halftime, 13-10.

"It was a drastic improvement from our first two games," said third-year head coach Ron Gould. "I saw the heart and the determination. The guys played from the start until the end and that's something we asked them to do.

"I'm very, very disappointed with as many penalties (9 for 73) that we had," he added. "It's not characteristic of our team. I'm a little befuddled as it relates to that... With all these penalties here, you're never going to have a chance for success. (But) it was great to see the kids' resiliency. They bounced back and they just kept playing hard."

Brady Stuart connected on field goals of 21 and 27 yards, extending his streak of made field goals to seven. His first came 10 minutes into the first quarter after Rainbow Warrior punter Rigoberto Sanchez mishandled a snap and was tackled at Hawai'i's 31-yard line. UC Davis drove to the 3 for a first down but was held out of the endzone, leading to Stuart's kick.

Sanchez hit a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter and then had a career-long 46-yarder in the second to give Hawai'i a 6-3. UC Davis, however, came back impressively, putting together a 12-play, 75-yard drive that featured a 14-yard run by Luuga, a 21-yard pass from Scott to Ramon Vargas and two third-down conversions, before Scott found Baljeu on a short swing pass at the 8. Baljeu then rumbled toward the goal line and dove in for the go-ahead score that made it 10-6 with 1:56 left in the half.

UC Davis was looking for its first halftime lead over an FBS opponent since 2008 against San Jose State but Hawai'i denied it that chance by returning the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to the Aggies' 35. Wittek later found Devan Stubblefield from 14 yards and a 13-10 lead at the break.

The second half featured 51 combined points, including Martin's 69-yard score that brought UC Davis to within 33-17 with 10:52 left in the fourth quarter. Freshman Joshua Kelley added a 14-yard TD run for his first collegiate score, and Stuart capped the night with his second field goal.

Harris highlighted Hawai'i's second half after UC Davis punter Colby Wadman, who had three punts inside the 20, pinned the Rainbow Warriors inside their own 5. Two players later, Harris bounced off right tackle and sprinted up the far sideline for his 95-yard touchdown run that made it 20-10. Marcus Kemp had a 21-yard TD reception, Melvin Davis ran in from five yards, and Dejuan Butler returned a blocked punt 26 yards as Hawai'i scored 21 points in the final quarter.

UC Davis went over 400 yards of total offense for the first time this season, gaining 409. The Aggies' also held the ball for a whopping 39:58, were an impressive 8 of 16 on third down and recorded the only two sacks of the game. Most of Hawai'i's 465 yards came through the air. Wittek threw for 272 yards, including 119 to Kemp and 108 to Stubblefield.

Darryl Graham and Isaiah Olave broke up passes for UC Davis while Bua finished with 2.0 TFLs for nine yards. Jerrol Garcia-Williams had 15 tackles (12 solo) to lead the Rainbow Warriors' defense.

UC Davis will look to pick up its first victory when it opens Big Sky action next Saturday at North Dakota. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. (PDT).