It was yet another shootout in the wild, wild West Division of the American Athletic Conference, and Navy once again was the last team standing Saturday.

Clinging to a two-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the Midshipmen's triple-option offense ran out the final 51/2 minutes to hold on for a crucial conference win.

Quarterback Will Worth rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns as Navy nipped Tulsa, 42-40, on Senior Day in Annapolis. Slotback Dishan Romine ran for 97 yards and a score for the Mids, who needed a fourth-down conversion to secure the win before an announced 36,397 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Navy took possession at its 25-yard line with just over five minutes to go. Romine gained 7 yards on third-and-2 for the first critical conversion.

Later facing third-and-9, offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper called for a reverse, and wide receiver Jamir Tillman gained 8 yards. That set up fourth-and-1 just shy of midfield. Worth fought through a mass of players for the first down.

Tulsa's coaching staff thought Worth not only came up short on the play, but also that he had fumbled. Worth lost control of the ball while reaching for the first-down marker, but the play already had been blown dead.

A replay review upheld the ruling on the field, and Worth was able to take a knee on the next two plays; Tulsa was out of timeouts and could not stop the clock.

“That's our comfort zone, to try and take time off the clock and make sure we keep the ball out of their hands,” Worth said of the game-ending possession. “The offensive line killed it, did a great job at the end.”

Slotback Toneo Gulley and fullback Shawn White added 75 and 60 yards rushing for Navy (7-2, 5-1), which took sole possession of first place in the AAC's West. The Mids now hold tiebreakers over their closest competition, having beaten Houston, Memphis and Tulsa. The West Division winner will face the East Division champion in the AAC championship game Dec. 3.

Quarterback Dane Evans completed 16 of 27 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns for Tulsa (7-3, 4-2), which fell to Navy for the second straight season. Wide receivers Justin Hobbs and Josh Atkinson combined for 10 catches and 225 yards for the Golden Hurricane, which vehemently disputed the decision to award Worth a first down at the end of the game.

Both defenses were shredded: Tulsa totaled 576 yards, with most of the damage (369) coming through the air, while Navy finished with 501 overall on the strength of its powerful rushing game (390).

“That was a great football game, but sometimes I wish I was in the stands watching it. These games are not good on the heart,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

Navy has not lost on Senior Day since 2002, and it was fitting that numerous members of the senior class — Worth, Romine, Gulley, White and Tillman — played prominent roles.

It was also the 15th straight home victory for the Mids, who completed their second straight undefeated season in Annapolis.

“To not lose at home all season, that's huge. It makes this a very tough place to play. We want to keep that tradition going,” said Navy senior defensive end Amos Mason, who made seven tackles.

The difference in the game turned out to be a failed 2-point-conversion attempt, after Tulsa's fourth touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Evans just scored off a quarterback sneak after faking a handoff, and when the Golden Hurricane tried that play again for the conversion, Navy inside linebacker Micah Thomas met meet Evans before the goal line.

“When I saw the puller, I knew they were trying to get me to flow outside with the back,” said Thomas, who led Navy with nine tackles. “As soon as I saw [Evans] looking at me, I knew he wasn't going to give the ball. I knew he was coming downhill and just tried to stop him before he got to the end zone.”

Navy received the opening kickoff for only the second time all season, and Romine got the home team off to a great start with a 48-yard return into Tulsa territory. Romine took a pitch on the first play from scrimmage and raced 31 yards to set up first-and-goal from the 7.

Two plays later, slotback Darryl Bonner fought through an arm tackle for a 4-yard touchdown that made it 7-0.

Tulsa needed only one play to answer, as wide receiver Keevan Lucas beat his man badly on a fly pattern. Sophomore Khaylan Williams made his first career start at nickel back and got caught looking into the backfield as Lucas raced past him. Evans delivered a perfect pass, and the 74-yard scoring strike tied the score with just 1:35 elapsed.

Navy was forced to punt on its second possession, but the defense bailed out the offense by stiffening in the red zone and forcing Tulsa to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Redford Jones that made it 10-7.

The Mids retook the lead with another lightning-quick drive. After scoring in just 1:19 on its opening possession, Navy needed only 1:18 to get another touchdown on its third.

Tillman adjusted to a pass thrown behind him and made a 32-yard completion. Two plays later, Romine took a pitch and burst through a huge hole created by Gulley. Romine raced untouched into the end zone from 41 yards out for his first career touchdown, putting the Mids back ahead, 14-10.

“It felt great, it really did,” Romine said of finally getting into the end zone. “Honestly, if me not scoring a touchdown meant winning the rest of the games this season, I would do it in a heartbeat.”