The Hawaii football team could not stop the clock or UNLV in a 29-27 loss at the Ching Complex tonight.

After apparently being stopped for a short gain, Jai’Den Thomas remained on his feet and broke away for a 33-yard scoring run to extend the Rebels’ lead to 29-20 with 6:03 to play.

But the Rainbow Warriors responded, with Brayden Schager lofting a 5-yard scoring pass to Jonah Panoke with 4:15 to go. The play was set up by Schager and Nick Cenacle collaborating on a 62-yard play.

The Rebels took over and did not give back possession. Twice they converted on third down, the biggest when quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams went 40 yards around the left side with 53 seconds to play. Having spent all their timeouts, the Warriors (4-6, 2-3 Mountain West) could not stop the Rebels (7-2, 3-1) from running out the clock.

After the teams traded field goals and touchdowns, the Rebels took a 22-20 lead into the final quarter.

Caden Chittenden, who missed a field-goal attempt near the end of the first half, capped the Rebels’ opening drive of the third quarter by connecting from 32 yards for a 15-10 lead.

The Warriors then took their first lead of the game when the offensive captains — Schager and wideout Jonah Panoke — teamed on a 49-yard scoring play.

But the Rebels answered with Williams’ 37-yard touchdown pass to Ricky White III for a 22-17 lead.

Kansei Matsuzawa’s second field goal, from 33 yards, cut it to 22-20.

The Warriors’ first two drives ended with a “dropped” pass that was intercepted and a third-down sack. The first led to Chittenden’s 41-yard field goal; the second resulted in Williams’ 23-yard scoring run on a quarterback keeper for a 10-0 UNLV lead.

>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UNLV

But the Warriors answered with Schager’s 74-yard pass to Dekel Crowdus to cut the deficit to 10-7. On a skinny post, Crowdus ran past defensive back Cameron Oliver, grabbed the ball at the 35, and sprinted the rest of the way.

The Rebels extended the lead to 12-7 when White blocked Lucas Borrow’s punt out of the UH end zone for a safety. It was White’s NCAA-leading fourth block of the season. Irvin DeAngelo fielded the ensuing free kick at the UNLV 16 and raced his way to the UH 1. But the apparent 83-yard return was nullified because of a holding penalty.

Later, Antonio Doyle’s pick-6 was voided because of a late hit on Schager.

Matsuzawa’s career-long field goal of 41 yards closed UH to 12-10.

Chittenden, who entered hitting 18 of 21 field-goal attempts, missed tries from 28 and 31 yards in the first half.