BALTIMORE – Taj Benning's layup with 13:29 to go in regulation gave visiting Fairfield University a 46-34 lead over Loyola University Maryland, but the Greyhounds closed the gap to force overtime and then outscored the Stags, 16-7, in the extra period to post an 84-75 win in their home opener at Reitz Arena.
 
Andrew Kostecka finished one point off his career-high with 31 points to go with six assists, five rebounds and four steals, while Kenneth Jones made all five of his 3-point attempts and scored a career-best 19 points, 13 that came in the second half or overtime.
 
Two freshmen made their Reitz Arena regular-season debuts with emphasis as Golden Dike finished with 18 points, a game-best eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Cam Spencer hit a 3-pointer that put Loyola up two possessions in overtime, and he added six assists off the bench.
 
The game was Kostecka's fifth with 30 or more points in his last 32 games. During the game, he moved into Loyola's top-20 all-time in scoring with 1,262 points.
 
Fairfield (1-3 overall) led by as many as seven in the first half, but Loyola (2-2) took its first advantage on a Jones three with 7:34 to play before halftime. The Greyhounds twice had two-point leads with less than two minutes to go in the first half, but two Benning free throws with 39 ticks left sent the teams to the locker room tied at 30-30.
 
Loyola had five turnovers on its first seven second-half possessions, and the Stags scored eight of the first 10 points in the stanza to lead 40-32 just over four minutes in.
 
A Spencer layup momentarily slowed the run, but Fairfield extended it to 16-4 with Benning's layup at 13:29 that gave them the largest margin of the game for either team, 46-32.
 
Following that basket, however, Loyola quickly started to close the gap, getting within six on a steal and fast-break layup by Jones at 11:34 and then drawing within one, 50-49, after a two possession sequence in which Kostecka had a steal and dunk and assist on a Jones three to cap the 17-4 stretch.
 
Vincent Eze made two free throws for Fairfield, but Dike had a dunk off a Kostecka feed, and Spencer grabbed assisted a Kostecka layup to push Loyola in front, 52-51, for the first time since late in the first half.
 
Fairfield took the lead three times after that in regulation, but the Stags were never up by more than one point. Jesus Cruz layups on back-to-back possessions put them in front by a point twice, the last time coming with 3:53 on the clock, but Kostecka drained a corner three to push Loyola in front 63-61 11 seconds later.
 
Benning tied it again for Fairfield, but Jones made his fifth three of the night with 2:51 on the clock, and the Greyhounds were in front by that many, 66-63. Spencer came up with a steal at half-court out of the press, and his feed to Jaylin Andrews for a layup made it a five-point game with 2:32 left, but those were the last points Loyola would score in regulation.
 
Cruz found space in the paint to score at 1:18, and Taliaferro connected on a three with 42 ticks left to knot the score, sending the game to overtime at 68-68.
 
Loyola never trailed in the extra frame as Kostecka made two free throws 51 seconds in. Cruz matched that pair with two of his own 19 second later, but two more from the charity stripe by Kostecka ta 3:36, and a Spencer three from the left wing gave Loyola a five-point advantage.
 
The Greyhounds made seven of 10 free throws in the final 2:02, and Kostecka punctuated the game with a fast-break dunk to seal the win.
Cruz and Taliaferro led Fairfield with 17 points each, while Eze added 15 and Benning had 14.
 
The Greyhounds are back in action on Tuesday, November 19, with a 7 p.m. game at George Mason University.