LAS VEGAS – The University of Hawai'i football team kept its Mountain West title hopes alive with a 21-7 win over UNLV  Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium. With the victory, the Rainbow Warriors also reached bowl eligibility with their seventh win of the season.
 
A week after an offensive shootout against San Jose State, UH (7-4, 4-3 MW) grinded out a road win over a scrappy Rebel squad in a low-scoring affair. UH overcame a slow start – including a trio of first-quarter turnovers – to win in Las Vegas for the first time since 2007 and in its final appearance in Sam Boyd Stadium.
 
UH's victory, its third in its last four games, sets up a winner-take-all match-up for the MW West Division when Hawai'i hosts San Diego State (8-2, 5-2 MW) next Saturday at Aloha Stadium. The winner of that game will claim the West Division and advance to the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 7.
 
The UH defense came up huge in securing the win by shutting out the Rebels in the final three quarters and providing a pair of game-changing plays. The Warriors held UNLV to just 235 total yards, while Cortez Davis provided the play of the game. The junior cornerback's 43-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter gave UH its first lead of the game, a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Meanwhile, Paul Scott's goal line interception late in the fourth quarter squashed any hopes of a Rebel (2-8, 0-6 MW) comeback.
 
The UH offensive overcame some early struggles, which included three first-quarter turnovers, one of which helped lead to UNLV's only touchdown of game. Cole McDonald came off the bench to throw for 211 yards on 20-of-26 passing, while also rushing for 43 yards and two scores.
 
In the win, McDonald surpassed 3,000 passing yards for the second straight season. He joins former UH greats Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan as the only UH quarterbacks with two or more seasons with 3,000 yards passing.
 
UH will host the Aztecs next Saturday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. at Aloha Stadium. The Warriors pulled off an overtime upset of SDSU on the road, 31-30, in last year's regular-season finale.