LAS VEGAS – LMU men's basketball will enter the WCC Tournament on Friday, following an opening round bye. The Lions (12-8, 7-5 WCC) will have a third opportunity to play San Francisco (11-13, 4-9 WCC) this season, following two wins earlier this season.

The two regular season games were very different from one another, even though LMU won each game. The first game came off a COVID-19 pause in LMU's program. The Lions played the game three-weeks after the team's final non-conference game. First Team All-WCC Performer Eli Scott recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in that matchup. The Lions came out of the gates firing, jumping to a quick 20-6 lead, before closing out the Dons.

In the second meeting, injuries prevented LMU from using their full arsenal of talent. Only six Lions saw the court in the road game as LMU benefitted from a 11 point and career-high 15 rebound performance from Mattias Markusson at the center position. Four of the six Lions scored in double-figures as LMU erased an eight-point second half deficit to pick the team's fourth-straight win of the season.
 
LMU outrebounded the Dons by 12 in the first two games with Markusson averaging nine rebounds over the two contests and Scott averaging 16 boards. San Francisco stayed in each game due to the turnovers they forced. USF turned LMU over 45 times in the two regular season games.
 
The two teams met in the WCC Tournament last season as well, with San Francisco taking that game. That was the first and only meeting between the two schools in the conference championships.
 
The game will air on Watch Stadium Friday at 6:00 p.m. As always, the game will be available to the radio audience on KXLU 88.9 FM.
 
For more information on LMU men's basketball, follow the program on Twitter, like the Lions on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "lmulionsmbb."