John Hardy-Tuliau is getting a jump on his senior season.

The Hawaii junior safety helped end weeks of futility for his team with a two-interception performance, including a pick-six in the Warriors’ 48-10 defeat of UNLV on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

"We just keep fighting, we stay as a team," Hardy-Tuliau said of snapping UH’s eight-game losing streak. "And we’re just trying to build momentum right now for our next game, our next season. So that’s what we’re doing right now. Building momentum. It’s all encouragement and positives."

It sure was against the woeful Rebels.

Hardy-Tuliau had his first career touchdown on a 38-yard interception return in the second quarter. He snared UNLV quarterback Nick Sherry’s pass near the left sideline, tiptoed along the edge and cut infield at about the 20, throwing off the scrambling Rebels.

He went untouched into the end zone for a 28-0 UH lead with 1:50 left in the half.

"I broke on the ball, I got it and as I was falling, I caught myself and I had some great blocks by our defense," Hardy-Tuliau said. "I (saw) the lane to cut back, and I took it. In practice every day, we get the ball on defense, we want to score. So that’s what we did today and it was just a great feeling."

It was UH’s first interception-return TD since Richard Torres ran one back 49 yards at Louisiana Tech on Oct. 11, 2011.

"I was able to pick up a quick block and then just watch him able to run all the way to the end zone," said junior cornerback Mike Edwards, who is no stranger to thrilling returns in the kickoff game. "It was sweet. … John does what he does, man. John’s a tremendous safety. I’m sure he’ll probably get a chance to play on the next level. He can cover any side of the field, and it’s just great to be able to play with a guy like that."

Edwards added his first pick of the season, and second of his career, with a sideline grab at midfield on a Sherry pass in the third quarter. However, UH did not score on the ensuing series.

Hardy-Tuliau, who tied for the team lead with six tackles, also had two pass breakups. He was part of a secondary that mopped up what the UH front line started by applying effective pressure on Sherry.

UH held the Rebels to 37 yards rushing and 166 yards passing. UNLV converted only one of its 15 third-down attempts.

Warriors coach Norm Chow felt the defense built off efforts in the previous weeks against Air Force and Boise State.

"You have to stop their offense, and they do a nice job," Chow said. "And I thought that guy (Sherry) threw the ball around very well, it made us very nervous. But we put good pressure on, and that always helps."

Hardy-Tuliau, a Temecula, Calif., native, attributed it to an intense and effective week of practice.

He nabbed his second Sherry pass at midfield in garbage time. He advanced the ball 16 yards, but elected to take a knee so the offense could run out the clock.

For Hardy-Tuliau, the picks were his fifth and sixth of his UH career, bringing him almost even with his blocked kicks (seven). The last Warrior to record two picks in a game was Aaron Brown against San Jose State on Nov. 20, 2010.