LOS ANGELES - LMU men's basketball (11-20, 4-12 WCC) advanced to the second round of the WCC Tournament and will play the fifth-seeded San Francisco Dons on Friday evening. The game will tip at 6 p.m. and open the second session of the day, with Pepperdine versus Santa Clara to follow.
 
The two teams met last Saturday in the final regular season game of the WCC schedule. In the first two matchups, both teams played tight games, with LMU holding a two-point lead at the half on the road, and the Dons going ahead by one in Saturday's game in Los Angeles. A total of 25 lead changes occurred between the two games this season.
 
Eli Scott scored a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the first game back on Jan. 18. The Lions were led by a 25-point performance from Jordan Bell on Feb. 29, with Keli Leaupepe adding 16 points.
 
Leaupepe helped the Lions advance to this game with his first-career double-double on Thursday against San Diego. The freshman grabbed 10 rebounds and was a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line as part of his 23-point night. Bo Kimble holds the program record for single-game made free throws without a miss at 17-for-17. The WCC Tournament has seen three others go perfect from the free throw line with a minimum of 10 attempts. LMU's Chris Nikchevich went 7-for-7 from the line to previously hold the team's WCC Tournament record for perfect free throws.
 
The last time that LMU saw the Dons in Las Vegas was in the 2013 WCC Tournament. LMU, the nine-seed that season, beat USF in the second round as part of a run that included four games in four nights for the Lions. After upsetting Portland, San Francisco in overtime, and Santa Clara by two, LMU advanced to the semifinals against the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs. The following year, the WCC eliminated the possibility of any team playing four straight days with an updated bracket.
 
The game will air live on NBCSBA+, Root NW, AT&T RM, BYUTV, and WCC Network. Live audio can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and TuneIN Radio.