Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland returns to Reitz Arena for the first of two-straight home games on Saturday, January 26, when it hosts Colgate University in a 12 p.m. game.
- Saturday's game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
- After the Greyhounds' six previous opponents shot 55.4 percent from the field, Loyola has held its last four foes to 43.7 percent, going 3-1 during the stretch.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.6 points over Loyola's last 16 games, shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range and 53.8 percent from the field in that stretch. Kostecka has 10 games with 23 or more points in those contests, eight with 26 or higher.
- Kostecka is one of four players nationally to average 20 points and two steals per game; he is averaging 2.2 steals to lead the Patriot League. Duke's Zion Williamson, Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith and St. John's Shamorie Ponds are the other three.
- His eight games with 26 or more this season are tied for sixth-most nationally.
- Isaiah Hart shot 38.8 percent from the field in non-conference games, but he has made 35 of 68 (51.5 percent) in the Greyhounds' first seven Patriot League games, and he is the team's second-leading scorer in conference games with 14.1 per game.
Turn On The Television
- Loyola's game against Colgate will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network. Jason Knapp will call the play-by-play, while Mo Cassara handles analysis.
Series History Versus Colgate
- Loyola and Colgate will meet for the 11th time as Patriot League foes and the 13th time overall when the teams take the floor on Saturday afternoon.
- The Raiders took an 8-4 lead in the all-time series by sweeping the 2017-18 season games, extending their winning streak to five in the series.
- The home team had won each time that the sides met as Patriot League opponents until Colgate's victory on February 19, 2017, in Baltimore.
- In last year's second game, a February 18 contest in Baltimore, Cam Gregory scored his 1,000th career point and moved into third all-time at Loyola in rebounds, but Colgate University defeated the Greyhounds, 68-47.
- With 1:51 left in the first half, Gregory grabbed an offensive rebound that gave him 837 total boards in his career, moving him past Mark Rohde (1972-76) and into sole possession of third-place at Loyola.
- Gregory became the 37th Loyola player to score 1,000 or more points when he converted in the paint 66 seconds into the second half. He finished with team-highs of 10 points and nine rebounds.
- With his 1,000th point, Gregory joined Mike Krawczyk (1968-72, 1,676 points, 1,278 rebounds) and Rohde (1,103 points, 836 rebounds) as the only three players to score 1000 or more points and have 800-plus rebounds.
- Gregory's rebounding and points early in the second half helped Loyola get within 40-26 after trailing by 20 at halftime. Andrew Kostecka scored off a Gregory offensive rebound at 16:23, but Colgate scored nine of the next 10 points to go up 50-27 at 11:45.
- The Raiders shot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half, scoring the game's first 12 points and building a 38-18 advantage at the break.
- Will Rayman finished with 15 points to lead all scorers, while Jordan Swopshire added 12 for the Raiders.
Last Time Out
- KaVaughn Scott made a free throw with just over 35 seconds left to tie the game at 68-68, but Bucknell made three at the line with less than six seconds left to escape with a 71-68 Patriot League win over visiting Loyola on Wednesday night.
- Isaiah Hart made a 3-pointer with 1:13 left, pulling the Greyhounds within a point, and the Greyhounds then drew an offensive foul on the defensive end to regain possession. Scott was hit on the arm by a Bucknell defender in the paint, and he made the second of two free throws to tie the game with 35.3 on the clock.
- Bucknell called a timeout and played for a shot late in its possession. Loyola collapsed into the paint to defense Bruce Moore, and he kicked it out to Jimmy Sotos on the high, left wing. Sotos launched a three with the shot-clock expiring and went to the ground. The Greyhounds were whistled for a foul, sending Sotos to the line where he made three free throws with 5.8 ticks on the clock.
- Loyola's 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the mark, and Bucknell retained sole possession of first place in the conference.
- The Bison led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Loyola cut its deficit to one, 59-58, when Andrew Kostecka threw a pass to Casmir Ochiaka in the paint for an up-and-under layup with 7:55 on the clock. Bucknell, however, held Loyola without a point for more than five minutes, going on a 9-0 run capped by a runner in the paint by Kimball Mackenzie to make it 68-58 with 2:57 left.
- Jaylin Andrews hit a three 20 seconds later for Loyola, sparking a 10-0 run by the Greyhounds. Kostecka scored on a traditional 3-point play at 1:52, and Hart's 3-pointer made it 68-67 with more than a minute to play. Kostecka finished with a game-high 26 points and career-best seven assists. Hart added 15 points, and Andrews had his second-straight game in double-figures, scoring 10. Ochiaka had a career-high seven points to go with four rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Mackenzie led Bucknell with 16 points, and Avi Toomer tallied 14.
National Honors For Kostecka
- Andrew Kostecka had a first for a Loyola player on January 21 when he was named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week, an honor given to mid-major players. He also picked up his third Patriot League Player of the Week award.
- On Tuesday, he was named the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight National Player of the Week.
- He received the recognition after averaging 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals in two overtime wins over Boston University and Holy Cross. He scored the game-winning layup against the Crusaders with two-tenths of a second left in overtime.
Flipping The Script
- Loyola snapped a six-game skid with its victory over Army West Point on January 12, and it did so with its best defensive effort of the season, a trend it continued against Boston University, Holy Cross.
- The Greyhounds held the Black Knights to 38.1 percent from the field, more than 17 points lower than opponents shot (55.4 percent) in those six losses. Loyola's 64 points allowed were 26 fewer than the 90.3 it gave up in the six games.
- A big part of the improved defense came from holding Army West Point to 6 of 20 from 3-point range (30.0 percent). The six teams prior made 55 of 114 from behind the arc (48.2 percent).
- Versus the Terriers, Loyola forced 23 turnovers – 14 coming by steals – and held them to 45.8 percent from the field and 73 points, 69 in regulation. Boston University also made just 7 of 22 from 3-point range.
- Holy Cross shot 46.2 percent from the field, but Loyola used a 33-24 advantage on the glass and forced 15 Crusaders possessions, 13 on steals. The Greyhounds then held Bucknell to 71 points and 45.5 percent from the field.
Second-Half Shooting
- Over its last three games, the Greyhounds have shot 55.3 percent from the field after halftime. They hit 48.3 percent against Boston University and then made 59.1 and 60.0 percent at Holy Cross and Bucknell, respectively.
Statistical Differences
- Loyola's seven wins and 13 losses can be seen in statistical differences. The Greyhounds have held opponents to 38.5 percent from the field, 27.9 from 3-point range in their wins; meanwhile, foes are shooting 52.3 percent overall and 47.2 from behind the arc in Loyola's losses.
- The Greyhounds have held opponents to 73 or fewer points in each of their wins.
Kostecka In The Last 16
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 16 games, recording 10 games with 23 or more points and two with 30 or better. He has scored 13 or more in all but one of those games and has had 18 or more in all but two.
- Over the course of the last 16, Kostecka has scored 361 points, an average of 22.6 to go with 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He has shot 53.8 percent from the field during those games 44.4 from 3-point range.
- Kostecka opened the stretch with a 23-point outing at the University of Detroit Mercy on November 19, topping his previous high of 22 points from 2017. He then poured in 30 points on November 25 at Towson University before going 12 of 12 from the free-throw line in scoring 29 on December 1 against Mount St. Mary's University.
- He upped his career-high by one at Drexel University, making a career-high 12 field goals in scoring 31 against the Dragons. He had his fifth outing with 23 or more, hitting that number at UMass Lowell and added a sixth with 27 on December 28 at then-No. 20 North Carolina State.
- Kostecka did not score for nearly 15 minutes in the Patriot League opener against Holy Cross, but he tallied 24 points in the second half and 29 in the game.
- He posted back-to-back games with 26 points at both Holy Cross and Bucknell. Kostecka also dished out a career-high seven assists against the Bison.
- Part of his increased scoring has come from better 3-point shooting. Kostecka missed his first 10 attempts of the season from behind the arc before making one against Temple University in the second half on November 16. Including that made shot, he is 29 of 66 since, and including, that bucket.
- Kostecka leads the Patriot League in scoring this year with 20.7 points per game, and his 5.1 rebounds are 15th, third-most among guards. His points per game rank 30th, his 414 total points this year rank 19th in all of NCAA Division I, and his 2.15 steals per game are 37th.
Cementing His Status
- Loyola's modest three-game wining streak coincided with the insertion of Jaylin Andrews to the Greyhounds' starting lineup. The freshman drew his first start against Army West Point and finished that game with six points and four rebounds, numbers he matched against Boston University.
- At Holy Cross, Andrews connected for a to-date career-high 12 points on 4 of 6 from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and a career-best and team-high four assists. He had his second double-figure scoring output with 10 points at Bucknell and four boards
- In Patriot League games, Andrews has averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 26.4 minutes of action. Prior to the conference starting, Andrews was averaging 3.2 points in 14.8 minutes per game.
Making Big Strides
- In the Greyhounds' first 11 games, Casmir Ochiaka saw time in only eight, playing limited minutes (33 total, 4.1 average). His minutes and production have jumped, however, due to available rotation time since the December 28 game at North Carolina State.
- During that time, he has averaged 12.8 minutes per game with a high of 23 coming at Bucknell. Against the Bison, Ochiaka had a to-date season-high of seven points to go with four rebounds.
- In seven Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 3.0 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Points From The Point
- After battling through a rough start to the season in which he averaged 3.0 points over the Greyhounds' first five contests, Isaiah Hart has rebounded to average 11.2 in Loyola's last 15 games. During that stretch he is the team's third-leading scorer behind Kostecka and Champion.
- Hart has shot 50 percent from the field over the Greyhounds' last 15 games, a mark buoyed by shooting 51.5 percent from the field in the Greyhounds first seven Patriot League games. In those first two outings, he has his two highest scoring outputs of the year with 21 at Lehigh after tallying 17 against Holy Cross. He has averaged 14.1 points in Patriot League games, second on the team.
Career Night For KaVaughn
- KaVaughn Scott established himself as a scoring presence early in Loyola's game at Lafayette, scoring eight points in the first six minutes, 10 in the opening eight against Lafayette. He continued his output in the second half, finishing with a career-high 21 points.
- Scott's 21 were seven more than his previous best of 14, a total he scored earlier this year against Dartmouth College and during his 2016-17 freshman campaign against Millersville University.
- Scott also had career-highs of nine field goals made and 15 attempted. His eight rebounds against the Leopards are tied for his second-best total of this season.
- In seven Patriot League games, he has averaged 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Champion Doubles Up
- Chuck Champion had his first career double-double November 11 against Dartmouth, scoring 17 points while leading all players with a career-best 11 rebounds.
- The junior guard scored 12 in the first half, including 10 in the final 10 minutes of the stanza. He finished 7 of 12 from the field. In two games (2018 and 2019) against Dartmouth, Champion has averaged 21.5 points against the Big Green. His previous career-high in rebounds was nine against Navy last season. The junior guard scored 17 again, just over a week later, in a win over Hampton, tallying 15 of his points in the second half.
- This season, Champion is second on the Greyhounds with 12.1 points and first with 32.6 minutes. He has scored 10 or more points in all but three of Loyola's games.
Getting To The Stripe
- Loyola has been adept at getting to the free-throw line through the first 19 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 409 times, making 292, and rank first in the Patriot League in both categories.
- Andrew Kostecka made all 12 of his free-throw attempts against Mount St. Mary's, the fifth-most in school history without a miss. He is 31st in the nation, and second in the conference, with 99 free-throws made this year.
Building An Inside Presence
- A year after averaging 15.2 minutes in 26 games (two starts), sophomore post Brent Holcombe has seen considerably more action through the first eight games this year. He has raised his scoring average from 4.8 last year to 11.0 this season, and his rebounds per game from 3.8 to a team-best 6.0.
- Holcombe has scored seven or more in all but one game this season and is shooting 54.6 percent from the field.
- Holcombe played his best basketball of his 2017-2018 in Loyola's last four games of his freshman season, averaging 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in contests against Lehigh, Navy, Army West Point and Bucknell.
- He scored a then-career-high 18 points on at Navy. He followed that with a his first career double-double, a 12-point, 10-rebound outing against eventual Patriot League champion Bucknell University in the quarterfinal round.
Up Next
- The Greyhounds host American University on Wednesday, January 30, at 7 p.m.
Patriot League Network
- All of Loyola University Maryland non-televised home men's basketball games will air live on the Patriot League Network for the sixth season.
