LOS ANGELES - LMU men's basketball (8-16, 2-8 WCC) enters the final stretch of the regular season this week, with six remaining regular season games before the start of the West Coast Conference Championships in Las Vegas.
The Lions host second-place BYU (19-7, 8-3) in an 8 p.m. contest on Thursday night before embarking on a three-game road swing. The two teams have split results over the last two seasons at Hank's House. LMU won 76-69 in 2018, and BYU returned the favor last season with a road win at Gersten Pavilion, 70-62. Over the last five years, games played between these two schools in Los Angeles have been decided by an average of 6.2 points.
The Cougars are winners of four-straight games, but have only left the Marriott Center once during that stretch. LMU has dropped four in a row, with the last win coming at home against Portland on Jan. 23.
In last Thursday's game at #2 Gonzaga,
Eli Scott became LMU's 17th player all-time to hit the 250-career assist milestone. The junior has already surpassed 100 assists on the season, and his 4.7 assists per game rank third in the conference.
The next milestone for Scott to surpass would be the 1,000-point mark. Scott has 983 career points in his three seasons. Once he hits that plateau, Scott will join LMU Hall-of-Famer Anthony Ireland as the only two players in program history with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 250 assists in their careers.
BYU has proven to be one of the country's best shooting teams this season. The Cougars lead the nation in three-point percentage at 42.6 percentage and rank third in Division I in overall shooting at 50.7 percent from the field.
The game will air on ESPNU. Live Stats will be run through Statbroadcast. Jesse Kass can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and TuneIN Radio.
A student tailgate will be held in the Burns Parking Lot from 6-8 p.m., and will include an In-n-out truck from LMU students. LMU Housing will be giving away prizes throughout the night. The first 300 fans through the door will receive this year's LA Loyolan Iggy Bobblehead and the first 250 fans will receive a rally towel courtesy of KXLU.
LMU will be on the road Saturday at Santa Clara to open a three-game road swing.
