It was a steady performance peppered with spectacular moments.

In the end, the elements added up to a 24-14 Hawaii victory over Louisiana Tech last night at Aloha Stadium.

A week after their landmark win at Fresno State, the Warriors started slowly, but two touchdowns in a 54-second stretch in the second quarter broke open a tied game.

The defense, meanwhile, contributed four takeaways as the Warriors maintained control of the game and their momentum heading into this week's Western Athletic Conference showdown at Boise State.

“;(The Fresno State win) was huge for us and that really put us back on track, and you don't want to have a letoff,”; UH receiver Greg Salas said. “;We can't let up, and we didn't tonight.”;

Hawaii improved to 3-3 and 2-1 in the WAC with its seventh straight win on homecoming night while keeping LaTech (2-3, 0-2) winless in four visits to Aloha Stadium.

“;It's good to get back to .500,”; UH coach Greg McMackin said after the Warriors posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season. “;With all the adversity we went through to start the season, I think it's helped us get better as a team.”;

The development of quarterback Inoke Funaki continued, as the junior passed for a career-high 224 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 43 yards in leading a relatively balanced attack by Hawaii standards. Hawaii ran the ball 40 times for a season-best 177 yards while attempting 26 passes.

“;(Funaki's) settling down and getting used to the spot being the starter,”; said Salas, who caught three passes for 87 yards, including a one-handed over-the-shoulder grab in the third quarter.

“;He's putting the ball on the money now. He's letting us make plays, he's trusting us, and he's trusting his reads and that's what this offense is about.”;

Running back Kealoha Pilares racked up 106 all-purpose yards—54 rushing and 52 receiving—with a touchdown.

After getting six takeaways against Fresno State the previous week, the Warriors defense added four more turnovers last night to turn the game, then seal it in the second half.

Hawaii linebacker Brashton Satele provided a momentum shift in the first quarter when he punched the ball out of LaTech running back Patrick Jackson's grasp at the goal line.

“;Big time,”; McMackin said of the play.

The kickoff team contributed a fumble recovery during the decisive second-quarter swing and Desmond Thomas and Calvin Roberts came up with interceptions in the second half.

“;Turnovers come in bundles and we didn't have any for a while,”; McMackin said. “;We as coaches need to put our players in positions to make plays. We're having guys make plays now.”;

After a slow start in which Funaki and LaTech quarterback Taylor Bennett combined to complete one of the game's first 10 passes, Funaki hit Malcolm Lane for a 52-yard completion—which he called “;big confidence booster”;—to set up his 6-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.

“;I think they were trying to let me throw hoping they could sit back in coverage,”; Funaki said. “;I'm grateful the receivers were able to make big catches and help me out. It's nice to know you have that confidence in the receivers that you can put it up there and they can make a play on it.”;

After Funaki's 25-yard touchdown pass to Salas capped a 91-yard drive and gave UH the lead for good, the Warriors got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff when R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane stripped Phillip Livas of the ball and Thomas recovered.

Two plays later, Pilares took a shovel pass 20 yards to give the Warriors a 21-7 lead at halftime.

Dan Kelly's 30-yard field goal in the third quarter represented all of Hawaii's scoring in the second half. But the defense shut out the Bulldogs until giving up a score with 19 seconds left and the outcome decided.

“;We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half to score points, we missed two field goals and a turnover,”; LaTech coach Derek Dooley said. “;We didn't take advantage of the opportunities and missed too many big plays on defense. Those are the two most critical factors to winning and losing and we didn't win either of them.”;