Hawaii's roller-coaster season ended with another wild ride.

The Warriors appeared to be headed for a rousing senior night before No. 13 Cincinnati rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to hand the Warriors a heartbreaking 29-24 loss before a crowd of 35,309 last night at Aloha Stadium.

Despite the loss, the Warriors have a chance to end the season on a high with the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl awaiting on Christmas Eve.

But losing on senior night still packed a powerful sting.

“;It's really tough to lose a close game like this,”; senior defensive end David Veikune said. “;To lose really hurt, but we just have to bounce back.”;

After going down 24-10 at the 12:36 mark of the fourth quarter, Cincinnati scored 19 unanswered points and took the lead for good when backup quarterback Dustin Grutza connected with Mardy Gilyard on a 69-yard touchdown pass with 4:42 left in the game.

The Big East champion Bearcats (11-2) learn their BCS destination today after setting a school record for wins. They will likely play Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

“;You have to give them credit—they made plays at the end,”; Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said.

“;I don't know if we gave it away or they took it away. ... They're a tough football team and that's what great teams do. We're a good football team, but not good enough to finish. Hopefully we'll learn something from this and be able to play better about the bowl game.”;

After plodding through the first half, Hawaii zipped past the Bearcats with two touchdowns in the first 5:04 of the third quarter to take a 17-10 lead.

The Warriors defense held the Bearcats to 1 yard in total offense in the third quarter and two turnovers led to 14 points. But Hawaii couldn't hold on down the stretch, as a flurry of big plays kept the Warriors from their second win this season over a nationally ranked team.

“;That's what I really feel bad for. This is a wonderful class of seniors. Great leaders,”; junior receiver Malcolm Lane said. “;That's why it hurts so bad. We still have another game left, but this would have been a big night for the seniors, to beat the No. 13 team.”;

With Hawaii trailing 10-3 coming out of halftime, Lane made a juggling catch of Greg Alexander's rainbow down the right side for a 60-yard gain. David Farmer scored on a 1-yard plunge on the next play to tie the score.

Hawaii special teams built on that momentum when senior Guyton Galdeira popped the ball loose from Cincinnati returner John Goebel and Jayson Rego returned the fumble to the Cincinnati 5.

“;We played Oklahoma this year and I will tell you this football team in Hawaii hits you as hard if not harder,”; Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said.

Alexander shoveled the ball to Lane for a 2-yard touchdown to give UH its first lead.

An interception by Desmond Thomas off a tip by Ryan Mouton then set up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Alexander to Jon Medeiros, for his first collegiate score, giving the Warriors a 24-10 lead.

The Bearcats then stunned the Warriors by scoring 19 unanswered points, nine on defense, to reclaim the lead.

“;Put this one on the offense; the defense played a hell of a game,”; said Alexander, who completed 28 of 42 passes for 275 yards and two TDs. “;We just didn't execute.”;

Cincinnati's defense pulled the Bearcats back within a score when Brandon Underwood intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.

The Bearcats closed to 24-20 on a 44-yard field goal by Jake Rogers with 8:19 left and the game tightened further when Daniel Libre recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a safety.

After the free kick, Grutza—who came in for starter Tony Pike in the final period—rolled to his right and hit Gilyard, who broke loose for the winning touchdown.

“;One thing about him is he's a fifth-year senior who has played a lot of Big East football,”; Kelly said of Grutza. “;He's not a guy who's going to get rattled.”;

The Warriors couldn't come up with yet another answer and the Bearcats celebrated the win.

“;Its a tough loss, I feel like we played really well, it was just meant for them to win,”; senior linebacker Solomon Elimimian said. “;They're a great team and I just thank God we still have one more game to play to redeem ourselves.”;