It wasn’t a win, but with the playoffs on the line, the UCSB men’s rugby team will take the tie. The Gauchos kept their playoff hopes alive by scoring a last second try to pull within two points of San Diego State, then converted the extra points for a 20-20 tie on the road on Saturday.

“We refused to lose,” junior hooker Adam Mitchell said. “If we didn’t tie that game, we would have been out of contention for the playoffs.”

Just as they did in their comeback win against UCLA two weeks earlier, the Gauchos relied on last minute heroics to keep their season alive. After UCSB fell behind 20-10 late in the second half, senior kicker Ryan Brown hit a penalty kick from 50 meters out to pull the Gauchos to within seven with about five minutes remaining.

After a crucial defensive stand, UCSB drove the ball deep into Aztec territory. With the clock winding down, junior Reid Wilson broke into the open field, dodging tackles on all sides before being taken down. Wilson managed to get the ball to junior Fran