CHICAGO – Andrew Kostecka scored 26 points, Isaiah Hart had a career-high 10 assists, and Jaylin Andrews and Cam Spencer each scored 14 as Loyola University Maryland shot 60 percent from the field in the first half and ran away for a 98-85 non-conference victory over host Chicago State University on Saturday afternoon.
 
Brent Holcombe and KaVaughn Scott each scored nine points, and Hart had seven. Golden Dike led the Greyhounds with eight rebounds, and he also chipped in with three assists. Andrews had a game-best four steals.
 
Kostecka's 26 points mark the 13^th time he has posted that many or more in the Greyhounds' last 30 games.
 
Chicago State led 10-6 on an Andrew Lewis layup less than four minutes in, but a Holcombe three with 15:13 to play in the first half sparked a 23-13 run for Loyola (1-1 overall). Kostecka put the Greyhounds in front, 16-13, with a three and Spencer hit another on the ensuing Loyola possession, as the Greyhounds would lead for the rest of the game.
 
Two baskets by Lewis got the Cougars (1-1) within two, but Champion and Holcombe hit threes for the Greyhounds, they stretched their lead to 25-19 with 10:18 on the first-half clock. Pairs of free throws by Dike and Spencer stretched the lead to 29-21.
 
Chicago State got back within six on a Lewis jumper – he finished with 14 points – but Loyola then scored 16 of the next 19 points, punctuated by five points from Andrews and four from Kostecka.
 
Loyola would lead by double digits for the rest of the game, although Chicago State would tighten it up late. Amir Gholizadeh hit one o his three second-half 3-points at 6:06 to get the margin to 11, 82-71, but Kostecka scored in the lane to give Loyola a 13-point cushion.
 
A Ke'Sean Davis free throw at 4:56 pushed Chicago State back within 11, but Chuck Champion hit a pull-up runner at 4:15, and he drained a corner three with 3:22, giving Loyola a 92-76 lead. Champion finished with eight points.
 
Hart's 10 assists are tied for 12^th most in school single-game history, and they are the most by a Loyola player since R.J. Williams had two 10-assist games during the 2013-14 season.
 
During the game, Kostecka became the 26^th player in school history to score 1,200 or more points in a career, and he moved into 24^th on the school's all-time scoring list.
 
Loyola returns to the court on Wednesday, November 13, when it travels to Old Dominion University for a 7 p.m. game.