The Matadors beat UC Santa Barbara 67-60 tonight at the Anaheim Convention Center. Rodrigue Mels had 28 points. Full recap to come.

There was no one to pass it off an inbounds and Rodrigue Mels just bounced the ball of the back of a Gaucho, setting himself up for a dunk that made the CSUN lead 65-58. Just 22.7 seconds to survive for CSUN, which leads 65-60. Mark Hill at the line.

Jordan Weiner just made a three-pointer for UCSB, which has cut the lead to 62-55. CSUN has 1:40 to survive to see itself in tomorrow’s final. And Mark Hill slips. UCSB with possession.

The Matadors have taken a 10-point lead thanks to an outburst from Rodrigue Mels, who now has 26 points. There is 2:40 to play. UCSB has called timeout. CSUN leads 60-50.

Vincent Cordell has fouled out of the game and Tony Osunsanmi, who hasn’t played till now, has replaced him. CSUN’s lead has been cut to 52-50 with five minutes to play. Tremaine Townsend is on the bench with four fouls. Rodrigue Mels is carrying this team. He has 22 points and was just fouled on a breakaway, meaning two free throws plus possession. Mels makes both. CSUN lead is now 56-50.

After UCSB got within one at 44-43, Rodrigue Mels hit a three. Then he followed that with a turnover. Then with a perfect alley oop to Kenny Daniels who laid it in easily. UCSB called for time. Now, he just hit another three-pointer. CSUN’s up 52-45 with seven minutes to go.

The Matadors got a seven-point lead following back-to-back three-point plays from Tremaine Townsend, but UCSB cut it to 44-42 with a 3-pointer from Jordan Weiner. The run coincided with Townsend coming out of the game for a breather. Some CSUN fans didn’t like the move too much. Both Pacific and Long Beach State are watching the game from the stands.

The Matadors were losing, for about 2 seconds. UCSB got a 35-34 lead, but Rodrigue Mels got it right back with a layup. Tremaine Townsend just scored on a swift move to the basket and got fouled to extend the lead to 38-35. The free throw by Townsend is good . CSUN leads 39-35 with 15:27 to go.

The Gauchos ended the half in a 14-5 run and head into halftime tied with the Matadors 30-30. Rodrigue Mels leads the Matadors with 12 points. Chris Devine has 10 points for the Gauchos.