The phrase came up early and often.

“;You can't win a ballgame when you turn the ball over six times,”; Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin said, the frustration ringing clear in his voice following the Warriors' 20-17 loss to San Jose State last night at Aloha Stadium.

He repeated the phrase, or a variation, several more times after the Warriors' inability to hang on to the ball proved telling as they saw a 17-7 halftime lead evaporate in a hail of giveaways.

The last of the turnovers, an interception by Duke Ihenacho off Tyler Graunke, set up Jared Strubeck's game-winning 47-yard field goal with 1:49 left.

“;I don't hate a lot of things in this life, but I hate losing,”; UH linebacker Adam Leonard said. “;No matter how it comes, whether it's a blowout or a close loss.”;

It was a painful turnabout for the Warriors (1-3), who turned a late fumble into the tying score in their dramatic overtime victory in San Jose last year.

This time, Hawaii's two fumbles and four interceptions were the difference as the Warriors had a 15-game Western Athletic Conference winning streak and a nine-game streak at home snapped despite outgaining the Spartans (3-2) 356 yards to 237.

“;I thought every phase on our team improved, except we threw six turnovers,”; McMackin said. “;That's one that got away from us and I'm very disappointed in that.”;

Inoke Funaki, who shared practice time with Graunke last week, started the game and proved effective early, both throwing the ball and scrambling for first downs as UH built a 10-point lead.

He finished 16-for-27 for 173 yards, but threw three interceptions and lost a fumble.

“;(At halftime) we felt good. You know we were excited, we wanted to keep the intensity up and keep trying to move the ball,”; Funaki said. “;The second half I thought our offense did well. It's just me.”;

Graunke had been working back from injuries to his throwing hand, and entered the game with 9:28 left after Funaki's third pick led to San Jose State knotting the score at 17.

His first possession stalled and Dan Kelly misfired on a 55-yard field-goal attempt with 4:40 left.

After the defense forced a punt, Ihenacho picked off Graunke's pass over the middle and Strubeck delivered the decisive kick.

“;It's nobody's fault, it's just that we had the ball in our hands and it's up to us what we do with it,”; Graunke said. “;Gotta do the right thing and we haven't been. Tonight, we did the same thing, we lost, and we didn't take care of the ball, didn't score.”;

Hawaii's coaches were wary of Dick Tomey's reputation for trickery, and the former Rainbows head man didn't disappoint.

Two plays into SJSU's opening drive, running back Brandon Rutley took the direct snap, threw a backward pass to quarterback Kyle Reed, who then launched a strike to David Richmond, running alone in the secondary, for a 77-yard touchdown.

But the Warriors forced the Spartans into four consecutive three-and-out possessions and five punts, limiting San Jose State to just four first downs in the first half.

“;Defensively we kept answering the challenge,”; McMackin said. “;The 13 points we gave up in the second half were all off turnovers. I thought we did a great job holding San Jose on quick-change possessions.”;

Kealoha Pilares broke loose around the left side for a 34-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career, and scored on a 1-yard run off left tackle to give UH the lead.

But Hawaii, last in the nation in turnover ratio, gave the ball away three times in the third quarter and again on its first possession of the fourth.

The second, a fumble by Funaki when Kyler O'Neal knocked the ball out of his hands, set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Reed to Jeff Clark.

San Jose State turned Funaki's final interception into a 50-yard Strubeck field goal to tie the game at the 9:32 mark.

Strubeck, who entered the game 3-for-8 this season, then made the game-winner after Graunke's interception.

“;It feels great knowing Coach still believes in me,”; Strubeck said. “;It was such a dire situation and we needed a kick even though I've struggled.”;

The last time Hawaii was shut out at home in the second half came in 1998—against San Jose State.

“;We shut them out in the second half and just made so many plays on defense,”; San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said. “;I credit our guys for battling in the fourth quarter and getting the win on the road.”;