LOS ANGELES – The West Coast Conference Tournament's opening round will feature a matchup between two teams that are all too familiar with one another over the last couple weeks. For the third time in 13 days, the Lions will face the Tigers, with not only a chance to win the season series, but to advance to the second round of the tournament.
 
Each team defended home court in February, with the Lions avenging the one-point loss in Stockton with one of their best offensive performances of the year on Saturday. LMU scored a season-high 90 points highlighted by a season-high 12 made three pointers. The Lions also matched a season-low mark by only committing seven turnovers in the win.
 
Injuries entering the WCC Tournament have created challenges for the Lions down the stretch. Even with Dameane Douglas and Keli Leaupepe, two 2020-21 All-WCC Honorable Mention selections, out of the lineup, others stepped up to earn the double-digit win over Pacific in the regular season finale. 
 
Five players scored in double digits for LMU on Saturday, including 20+-point performances by seniors Joe Quintana and Eli Scott. Quintana hit six threes on the day and Scott did his work in the paint and at the free throw line. Quintana led the WCC with 2.74 threes made per game and ranked 21^st in the country at his 41.8 percent clip from long range. Scott led the WCC in both free throws made and attempted, but also ranks in the league's top 11 in points per game (3^rd at 17.0), rebounds per game (9^th at 6.4), and total assists (11^th at 3.0).
 
The Lions built a challenging schedule this season, and hope that will bode well in the quest to make some noise in Vegas. As of Tuesday, LMU was one of four WCC programs with an average opponent net rank in the double-digits.

The game will tip at 6:00 PM from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. For those not in attendance for the tournament, the game will be broadcasted on Bally's SoCal, Bally's San Diego, NBC Sports California, ROOT Sports NW, and BYUtv. Additionally, the game will be streamed for free on the WCC Network online. In addition to the television and web feeds, KXLU 88.9 will broadcast the audio of the game on radio.

For all things WCC Tournament, visit Tournament Central at WCCSports.com.