The 1990 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 3 and 4 at the Gersten Pavilion at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. This was the fourth edition of the tournament.
During the first semi-final game on Sunday between top-seeded Loyola Marymount and #4 seed , LMU forward collapsed with 13:34 left in the first half. He had just scored a dunk on an alley-oop pass from point guard that put the Lions up He fell a short distance from Pilots point guard , attempted to get up, but shortly after stopped breathing. Transferred to nearby Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital, Gathers was pronounced dead less than two hours later; he was
The game and the rest of the tournament were canceled, with regular season champion LMU awarded the in the 64-team NCAA tournament. Seeded eleventh in the West regional, the Lions won three games and advanced to the they lost to top seed the eventual national champion.