Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland continues a stretch of two-straight, and three of four, at home on Wednesday, January 30, when American University comes to Reitz Arena for a 7 p.m. game.
- The Greyhounds have won four of their last five, three coming in overtime.
- After the Greyhounds' six previous opponents shot 55.4 percent from the field, Loyola has held its last four foes to 45.4 percent, going 4-1 during the stretch.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.0 points over Loyola's last 17 games, shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point range and 52.8 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 2.3 steals, good for second in 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 10th-most nationally.
- Isaiah Hart shot 38.8 percent from the field in non-conference games, but he has made 37 of 75 (49.3 percent) in the Greyhounds' first eight Patriot League games, and he is the team's second-leading scorer in conference games with 13.0 per game.
Series History Versus American
- American is Loyola's most-played Patriot League opponent, as Wednesday's game will be the 95th all-time installment in the series. The programs have evenly split the previous 94 games, each winning 47.
- The Eagles, who are Loyola's seventh most-played opponent in program history, and Greyhounds were former Mason-Dixon Conference opponents prior to each joining NCAA Division I.
- Loyola and American are 5-5 against each other since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in 2013-14. The teams have split all five of the season series.
- American won last season's first meet, 76-65, in Washington, D.C, but the Greyhounds returned the favor with a 72-69 in Baltimore.
- Brent Holcombe and Isaiah Hart each scored 17 points in that second game, leading Loyola to a wire-to-wire 72-69 victory over visiting American. Holcombe's 17 came with nine rebounds, and his point-total marked a career-high at the time. He made all but one of his seven field-goal attempts, while Hart converted 5 of 8 from the field and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line.
- The Greyhounds led by 10 with under three minutes to play, but 3-poitners by American's Cheikh Diallo and Stacy Beckton Jr. pulled the Eagles within a point with 49.6 seconds left. After a Loyola timeout, Isiah Hart sent a pass to Cam Gregory in the post, and Gregory faked right before turning to his left and scoring over American's Jesse Little, giving the Greyhounds a three-point cushion with 23.5 seconds left.
- American's Sa'eed Nelson misfired on a layup with under 10 seconds to go, but the Eagles retained possession after Loyola knocked the rebound out-of-bounds with 3.6 on the clock. On the inbound play, Nelson came around a screen, and Sam Norton switched onto him defensively, pressuring him 25-plus feet from the basket. Nelson's desperation heave at the buzzer landed over the backboard, securing the Greyhounds' win.
Last Time Out
- Loyola held Colgate to just one field goal in overtime, and the Greyhounds pulled away for their third extra-time victory in the last four games, 79-72, over the Raiders in Reitz Arena on Saturday afternoon.
- The lone Raiders' field goal in overtime came with less than five seconds left as Loyola had a pair of steals and forced four Colgate turnovers. The Greyhounds converted 9 of 11 at the free-throw line in overtime after connecting on just 4 of 10 in regulation.
- Chuck Champion led all players with a season-high 19 points for the Greyhounds, but three freshmen – Kenneth Jones (16), Jaylin Andrews (15) and Casmir Ochiaka (6) – who combined for 37 points. Jones and Andrews' totals were both career-highs.
- Jones knocked down three 3-pointers after Colgate took a 54-45 lead, his third making it a 58-56 game with 7:42 on the clock. After two Raiders free throws and a Champion 3-pointer, KaVaughn Scott caught a Jones pass and scored in the paint to swing the lead back to Loyola's side, 61-60. The lead changed five times over the next six-plus minutes with a Scott basket at 1:13 giving Loyola a 68-66 advantage. Will Rayman, however, scored just before the regulation buzzer to tie the game at 68-68 and send it to overtime.
- Neither Loyola, nor Colgate made a field goal for more than four minutes of the extra period. Andrew Kostecka and Rapolas Ivanauskas each made two free throws for their respective teams in the first minute of overtime, and the score was tied at 70-70. Both teams came up empty over the next 3:32 before Andrews was fouled on a baseline in-bound play, and he converted a pair of free throws for the Greyhounds. Andrews then had a steal at the defensive end, was fouled and made another two, stretching the lead to 74-70.
- After a Colgate offensive foul, Loyola broke the Raiders' press, and Chuck Champion scored in transition to spread the gap to six points. Colgate misfired on three 3-pointers during its next possession, and Champion grabbed the defensive rebound, was fouled and made two foul shots.
- Ivanauskas led Colgate with a double-double, registering 16 points and 12 rebounds.
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 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
- He then went for 15 points, 10 after halftime, against Colgate for his third-straight game with 10-plus. Andrews was 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in overtime and also had two of his career-high four steals.
- He earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors after the Bucknell and Colgate games.
- In Patriot League games, Andrews has averaged 8.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 28.3 minutes of action. Prior to the conference starting, Andrews was averaging 3.2 points in 14.8 minutes per game.
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.
- The next day, 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 53.8 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 40.1 percent from the field, 28.2 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 17
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 17 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 17, Kostecka has scored 374 points, an average of 22.0 to go with 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He has shot 52.8 percent from the field during those games 43.9 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 20.3 points per game, and his 5.0 rebounds are 15th, third-most among guards. His points per game rank 39th, his 427 total points this year rank 26th in all of NCAA Division I, and his 2.29 steals per game are 27th.
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 13.4 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 eight Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 3.4 points and 3.8 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 10.8 in Loyola's last 16 games. During that stretch he is the team's third-leading scorer behind Kostecka and Champion.
- Hart has shot 48.8 percent from the field over the Greyhounds' last 16 games. In the first Patriot League outings, he had his two highest scoring outputs of the year with 21 at Lehigh after tallying 17 against Holy Cross. He has averaged 13.0 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 eight Patriot League games, he has averaged 8.5 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.
- Champion scored 16 points after halftime and finished with a game-best 19 points against Colgate.
- This season, Champion is second on the Greyhounds with 12.4 points and first with 32.8 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 21 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 430 times, making 305, 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 36th in the nation, and second in the conference, with 103 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 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 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.
Up Next
- Loyola heads out on the road, but it stays in the State of Maryland for a Saturday, February 2 game at 2 p.m. at the U.S. Naval Academy.
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.
