LOS ANGELES – After a three-week gap between games, LMU Men's Basketball ran out of the gate in the return to play, topping San Francisco, 68-60, in the West Coast Conference opener. The Lions (6-3, 1-0 WCC) remains unbeaten at home this season and top the Dons (8-6, 2-2 WCC) at home for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
 
LMU scored the game's first six points, and then 11 of the first 13, to lead by nine with less than five minutes off the clock.
 
The Lions pushed the advantage to 20-6 with a top of the arc three by senior Eli Scott as part of his 20 point and 10 rebound night. Scott's 17^th career double-double stands alone at eighth all-time in program history, breaking a tie with Mark Armstrong.
 
The lead ballooned to 19 in the first half as Dameane Douglas hit a three off a turnover to make it a 36-17 advantage with 5:53 to play until intermission.
 
After San Francisco cut their deficit down to seven, Keli Leaupepe hit two free throws in the final minute of the half to give the Lions a 44-35 lead at halftime. Leaupepe finished the game 11-for-11 from the free throw line, as part of his 19 points. Leaupepe's personal record is 13-for-13 from the stripe in a game, which he did in last season's WCC Tournament against San Diego.
 
Turnovers allowed USF to climb back into it in the second half, eventually leading to a tie score at 54-all with 5:50 remaining. LMU never relinquished the lead, and scored the following seven points to build the lead back to 61-54 over the ensuing three and a half minutes.
 
The run was capped by an offensive rebound by Leaupepe on the front end of a one-and-one, which he kicked out to Joe Quintana for three. The triple was Quintana's first points of the game, but gave the shooter confidence to take it off the dribble into the lane for another key basket with under a minute left to make it a two-possession game with 50 seconds remaining.
 
LMU's free throws down the stretch allowed the Lions to earn the conference win, as LMU scored 18 points from the line, compared to just five from the Dons.
 
Despite limited practice heading into the game, LMU's effort on the offensive glass paid off. The Lions outscored USF in second chance points, 15-4.
 
LMU will continue conference play on Saturday, traveling to Pacific on Jan. 16 in search of the team's first road victory.