Ruston, LA (Sports Network) - Gerard Lewis knocked down the potential game- winning two-point conversion pass in the end zone, as 20th-ranked Hawaii downed Louisiana Tech, 45-44, in overtime.

Hawaii's Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan had another outstanding contest, keeping his team in a game it trailed by 14 points early in the first quarter. The senior signal-caller finished 43-of-61 passing for 548 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for a score for the Warriors (2-0, 1-0 WAC), who have scored a combined 108 points in their first two games.

"If you're going to blitz Colt Brennan, you can't be late," Tech head coach Derek Dooley said. "I thought we did a good job at getting to him at times, but he also made us pay with some big plays. It's not everyday a guy throws for over 500 yards against you and you feel like you did a pretty good job against him."

Jason Rivers was one of three Warrior receivers who benefited from Brennan's big day. Rivers ended with 14 catches for 176 yards and one touchdown. Ryan Grice-Mullins added nine receptions for 162 yards and two scores and Devone Bess had 10 catches for 118 yards with a TD.

Zac Champion ended 23-of-36 passing for 187 yards with two touchdowns for the Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1), who decided to go for the win instead of trying to force another overtime session.

Patrick Jackson had 98 yards and two touchdowns rushing for La. Tech, which has lost five of the six all-time meetings against the Warriors.

"I know everyone is going to say this is a moral victory, but I'm not buying it," Dooley said. "We didn't win. We had our chances, and we didn't take advantage of them. Hawaii made the plays to win the game."

Trailing 31-28, Brennan gave the Warriors the lead when he hooked up with Bess on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter.

However, after holding the Bulldogs, Brennan tossed his first interception of the season, giving La. Tech possession at the Hawaii 31-yard line. Six plays later, Dennis Morris ran in from one yard out for a 38-35 lead. Two plays earlier, Morris brought the ball inside the one with a 19-yard rumble.

So, with 3:01 left in regulation, Brennan and the Warriors took over. Brennan drove his squad down to the Bulldogs' 32-yard line and Dan Kelly, who had a 49-yarder blocked, and missed a 41-yarder earlier in the game, hit from 49 yards to tie the game with 1:35 left.

Neither team mounted any kind of threat in the final 1 1/2 minutes, forcing overtime.

Brennan capped the first possession of the initial OT session with a TD toss to Rivers in the front left corner of the end zone and the all-important PAT was successful.

La. Tech answered when Champion hit Dustin Mitchell with a two-yard touchdown pass, but Champion's two-point conversion pass intended for Brian Jackson in the front right corner of the end zone was knocked down by Lewis for the win.

Teams are not forced to go for two points in overtime until the second extra session.

This shootout featured 1,003 total yards of offense. Hawaii had just 45 of its total 593 rushing, while La. Tech was a little more balanced with 223 rushing yards and 187 passing.

The Bulldogs started the scoring on their first possession, as Jackson ran in from three yards out. He then ran in from 16 yards to cap La. Tech's next possession, giving his squad a 14-point lead.

Hawaii cut the deficit in half five plays later when Leon Wright-Jackson busted out a 48-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left in the opening quarter.

Wright-Jackson ended with 53 rushing yards.

Brennan then tied the game just under five minutes into the second quarter when he ran in from three yards out.

Later, after Brennan lost a fumble, Daniel Porter ended a short three-play, 26-yard drive with an 18-yard run for a score and a 21-14 lead going into halftime.

Hawaii tied it up with one play in the third quarter. With 9:47 left Brennan hit Grice-Mullins with a 64-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.

The Bulldogs answered with a Danny Horwedel 42-yard field goal, but again Brennan hooked up with Grice-Mullins for a touchdown. This time, the scoring play was only 17 yards, but capped a 67-yard, nine-play drive, giving the Warriors a 28-24 lead.

The Bulldogs, though, went into the fourth ahead 31-28 when Champion hit Josh Wheeler with a three-yard TD pass with only 47 seconds left in the stanza.