LOS ANGELES – For the second time this season, the LMU against Pacific game was determined by massive second-half runs. After Pacific (5-6, 3-5 WCC) opened the second half with a 21-2 run before LMU responded with a 25-6 run to take back the lead and take the game, 80-76.
 
The Lions started the game hot, hitting five straight to open and 10 of the team's first 11 shots to build a 25-16 lead at the 11:14 mark.
 
Pacific responded with a 10-9 run to take their first lead of the game, 28-26, before Eli Scott scored two of his team-high 24 points.
 
The Lions closed out the first half on an 8-1 run over the final 2:22 to carry a 42-36 lead into intermission. LMU shot 68.2 percent (15-for-22) from the field in the first half, with Scott leading the way with 15 of his points. LMU finished the game with a season-best 55.3 percent (26-for-46) mark from the field and 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from three.
 
The Tigers opened the second half with a 21-2 run over the first 7:09 to build up a 57-44 lead. 
 
The visitors built their lead to as high as 14 points, 63-49, before Joe Quintana ended the run with back-to-back threes with 8:33 to play to cut it back down to single digits. Quintana scored 13 points with all seven of his attempts coming from three, knocking down four.
 
The Quintana triples sparked a 25-6 run over the next seven-plus minutes. During the stretch Quintana buried three threes, and Keli Leaupepe and Jalin Anderson each added one apiece to take a 74-69 lead.
 
The Lions closed out the game with the team's final eight points coming from the free throw line. At a one-possession game with 10 seconds remaining, and LMU leading 78-72, Leaupepe sealed the game by grabbing an offensive rebound on a missed free throw and calmly knocked down his pair of free throws after drawing the immediate foul to push it back to a two-possession game in the closing seconds.
 
Leaupepe finished the game with 17 points on 5-for-7 field goals and five rebounds. 
 
LMU committed a season-low nine turnovers in the game, paired with a conference-best 21 assists. Anderson tied his career high with nine assists and only committed one turnover from the point guard position in his 38 minutes.
 
LMU will play three games next week, starting with road contests on Tuesday and Thursday at Santa Clara and San Francisco, respectively, before returning home to host BYU for the lone matchup of the season on Saturday.