LONG BEACH, Calif. – #15 LMU men's water polo played one final out of conference road game before the regular season would come to a close. On Thursday night, the Lions lost a 13-12 battle with #5 Long Beach State on the road.
 
Jonny Rimlinger and Blazo Mitrovic each scored in the opening quarter, but LMU left the first eight-minute session down 3-2.
 
Mitrovic evened the game at 3-3, then after LBSU retook the lead, it was Rimlinger that tied the game again at 4-all. Long Beach State scored back-to-back goals before Rimlinger and Mitrovic scored the next two to tie the game at six. With less than a minute left in the half Long Beach State scored the go-ahead goal only to have David Carrasco equalize with nine seconds on the clock.
 
The Beach outscored LMU 4-2 in the third quarter, despite Mitrovic adding to his total with both scores.
 
With the Lions trailing by a pair, Mitrovic scored his game-high sixth goal to open the fourth and cut the deficit in half, 11-10. Less than a minute into the period, Joseph Cavazos tied the game at 11-all. The Beach went ahead on a powerplay goal at the 3:55 mark. With 2:29 to play, Cavazos scored his second of the quarter as LMU tied the game on the six on five. LBSU scored with 2:05 to play to take a final lead, as neither team was able to add one in the final two minutes of play.

LMU will open the WWPA Championships on Friday as the fourth seed, after finishing in a three-way tie for second. The game will be played at 12:30 pm against the fifth-seeded Air Force Falcons.