LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Loyola Marymount men's basketball takes their three-game winning streak to Las Vegas and open the 2019 West Coast Conference Championships against Pepperdine Friday at 6 p.m.
 
LMU (20-10, 8-8) will open their tournament run with a third look at the Waves, after splitting with the PCH Cup rivals for the third-straight season. LMU opened conference play with a 77-62 loss in Malibu on Jan. 3, before evening the season series with a 74-70 win at Gersten Pavilion.
 
A lot has happened since those January meetings. The Lions enter the WCC Championships with 20 wins for the first time since the 1989-90 season and have jumped to the five seed in the tournament for the first in Head Coach Mike Dunlap's tenure at his alma mater. The Lions only other season with 20+ wins since 1990 was the 2011-12 team that ended their season at 21-13.
 
Each team will have a First-Team All-WCC performer leading the way. LMU's James Batemon and Pepperdine's Colby Ross are two of the best points/assists combo guards in the league. Both players rank in the top seven in the WCC in points and assists and have been in instrumental to their team's successes.
 
Prior to Thursday night's win at the WCC Championships, Pepperdine had lost six of eight games. On the other end, LMU has won three-straight games, as well as three consecutive away from Hank's House.
 
Another similarity between the two schools is the overall career success that their head coaches have experienced. Both Mike Dunlap and Lorenzo Romar became 400-win collegiate coaches this season.
 
The game will tip at 6 p.m. on Spectrum Sportsnet in Los Angeles, NBC Sports Bay Area, BYUtv nationally, and TheW.tv online.