Vasko’s three TDs lift Coastal Carolina

COASTAL CAROLINA 24, SAN JOSE STATE 14

HONOLULU — Ethan Vasko threw three touchdown passes and Coastal Carolina beat San Jose State 24-14 in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night for its second bowl victory.

Vasko completed 20 of 33 passes for 199 yards and ran for 50 yards on 17 carries for the Chanticleers (8-5). The Spartans (7-6) had won six in a row.

“It was awesome,” Vasko said. “We prepared all week, even the week before and we all came out here confident, excited to play and we played a great game.”

Vasko threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Matt Alaimo with 3:16 left in the first quarter to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Alaimo was 3 for 3 for 52 yards on third downs on the drive, including the scoring play.

Vasko connected with Kendall Karr on another 2-yarder with 3:19 left in the third quarter and closed out the scoring in the fourth with an 8-yard scoring pass to Sam Pinckney, who made a leaping one-handed grab.

Pinckney had eight catches for 123 yards and extended his NCAA record to 58 consecutive games with a reception.

“I’m just so proud of our team and the way they competed, to withstand a great rally from San Jose State and I’m just proud of our guys the way we finished the game at the end,” Coastal Carolina Coach Tim Beck said.

Down 17-0, San Jose State scored two touchdowns in a four-minute span early in the fourth quarter. Chevan Cordeiro hit Sam Olson with a 35-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play, and Quali Conley scored on a 12-yard run on the Spartans’ next possession.

Cordeiro was 16 of 30 for 215 yards. Olson had four catches for 96 yards.