WCC Tournament Quarterfinals: LMU happens in Vegas, LMU stays in Vegas (another day)

Three days, three games, three wins. The Loyola Marymount Lions beat a higher seed for the third straight day in Las Vegas, this time taking down the #4 seed Santa Clara Broncos 60-58 on Friday night.

In the first half, the Broncos jumped out to a 10 point lead and it looked like the LMU winning streak would end. But the Lions went on a scoring streak of their own to end the first half and tied the game up at 34-34.

The second half was similar with Santa Clara threatening to pull away several times, only to watch the Lions claw their way back every time.

In the end, the Lions had enough heart to pull the win out. The LMU win came despite a dumb foul with 4 seconds left in the game while nursing a one-point lead. The foul gave the Broncos a chance to take a lead but, Santa Clara's Brandon Clark missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Loyola Marymount hung on for the win.

The Lions were paced by 23 points from Anthony Ireland, and Santa Clara's Kevin Foster matched with 23 points as well.

With the win, LMU moves on to the tournament semifinals against #1 Gonzaga. Beating the Zags will be a taller order than the three wins so far, but you can bet the Lions will not go down without a fight.