Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland wraps-up a two-game road trip on Wednesday, February 13, when it heads south on Interstate 95 to face American University at 7 p.m.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.7 points over Loyola's last 21 games, shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point range and 54.0 percent from the field in that stretch. Kostecka has 14 games with 22 or more points in those contests, 10 with 26 or higher.
- Kostecka is one of two players in NCAA Division I with 500 or more points and 50 or more steals, joining Duke's Zion Williamson. They are also two of five players nationally to average 20 points and two steals per game; he is averaging 2.5 steals, good for first in the Patriot League. Murray State's Ja Morant, Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith and St. John's Shamorie Ponds are the other three.
- Kostecka's 10 games with 26 or more this season are tied for seventh-most nationally.
- Jaylin Andrews shot just 28.9 percent from the field in Loyola's 13 non-conference games, but the freshman has connected on 45.8 percent during 10 Patriot League outings (he missed the first two due to an injury). As a result, Andrews is averaging 8.1 points in the League after posting 3.2 in non-conference play.
Series History Versus American
- American is Loyola's most-played Patriot League opponent, as Wednesday's game will be the 96th all-time installment in the series. The programs have a nearly even split the previous 95 games with the Eagles holding a 48-47 series lead.
- 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.
- American holds a 6-5 advantage against Loyola since the Greyhounds joined the Patriot League in 2013-14. The teams have split all five of the season series prior to this year.
- American won last season's first meeting, 76-65, in Washington, D.C, but the Greyhounds returned the favor with a 72-69 in Baltimore.
- The teams played just two weeks ago with American coming leaving Loyola's Reitz Arena with a 74-68 victory on January 30. American shot 55 percent from the field in the second half and conversely held the Greyhounds to 33.3 percent to pull away for the win.
- Loyola used a 10-0 run over nearly five minutes to take a 19-9 lead on a Kenneth Jones jumper with 11 minutes to play in the first half, but American countered with a 9-0 stretch of its own to get within a point less than four minutes later.
- From there, no team led by more than five points for the remainder of the half and the lead changed hands three times before the break. Mark Gasperini put American in front with a basket in the paint with 22 seconds left, but Chuck Champion evened it at 33-33 with a pull-up jumper in the lane just before the first-half buzzer.
- Champion tallied the first two points of the second half 12 seconds in, but Jacob Boonyasith responded with a 3-pointer for the Eagles at 18:21, and American took a lead it would not relinquish.
- Loyola tied the game at 42-42 on two Jones free throws with 14:09 left, but American went on to score 21 of the next 31 points for a 63-52 lead on a traditional 3-point play by Gasperini with 3:32 on the clock. Andrew Kostecka hit a three for the Greyhounds on their next possession, and he converted a 3-point play on the next. KaVaughn Scott then knocked down two free throws, and after American's Stacy Beckton Jr.. hit a pair, Kostecka was fouled on a three and made a trio of foul shots to get Loyola within three, 66-63, with 1:58 left. That was as close as the Greyhounds would get, however, as American made all eight of its free throws in the final 92 seconds to seal the game.
- Kostecka led all players with 22 points, and he also had four blocked shots and four steals. Scott logged his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Champion added 12 points.
Last Time Out
- Andrew Kostecka scored a game-high 25 points, his first two making him the 38th player in Loyola history to score 1,000 in his career, but host Colgate used a big second-half rally for a 75-72 Patriot League victory on Saturday afternoon.
- Loyola led by one, 29-28, after a Colgate layup by Malcolm Regisford, but Kostecka scored 11 points during a 15-2 Greyhounds run that saw Loyola lead 44-30 on a Sam Norton 3-pointers with 2:40 left in the first half. Chuck Champion, who finished with 18 points for Loyola, made it 45-32 Greyhounds with just over 21 ticks left in the half, but Will Rayman knocked down a three for the Raiders with two seconds to go in the half, and Loyola carried a 48-35 lead into the locker room at the break.
- Another Rayman three – he matched Rapolas Ivanauskas for team-high honors with 24 points – cut the Greyhounds' lead to 10 just 19 seconds into the second, but Loyola scored six in a row on baskets by Champion, Kostecka and KaVaughn Scott to go ahead 54-38 with 17:12 on the clock.
- A Champion three at 15:16 stretched the lead to 17, 57-40, but Dana Batt made two free throws 21 seconds later, kicking off a 23-0 run for Colgate that saw the Raiders lead 63-57 on a Jack Ferguson three with 9:24 left. Loyola got back within a point three times over the next eight-plus minutes, and a Scott basket off an offensive board made it 70-69 Colgate with 53 seconds left.
- The Greyhounds forced a Colgate turnover, and Kostecka then drove the lane, laid the ball in off the glass, was fouled and made the ensuing free throw to put Loyola up, 72-70 with more 35 seconds remaining in regulation.
- Colgate took a pair of timeouts on its next possession, and Rayman connected on a three from the left corner with 10 seconds left, lifting the Raiders in front by a point.
- On Loyola's next possession, Kostecka turned the corner to drive, but he was called for a charge when he hit a moving Raiders defender, turning the ball over the Colgate and allowing it to hit two free throws to seal the victory.
- Kostecka's 25 points came on 11-of-15 from the field. Champion finished with 18, while Scott had nine and Jaylin Andrews added eight.
38th To 1,000
- Andrew Kostecka scored the game's first point Saturday at Colgate, and in the process became the 38th player in Loyola history to reach 1,000 career points.
- Kostecka also has 142 career steals, good for eighth in school history and is one of 11 Loyola players to amass 1,000 points and 100 steals.
Season Ranks
- Andrew Kostecka's 530 points this season rank 21st in school single-seaosn history, four back of Gene Gwiazdowski's 534 in 1973-74.
- His 123 free throws made rank 21st, and his 61 assists are good for eighth.
Kostecka In The Last 21
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 21 games, recording 14 games with 22 or more points, 10 with 26 or better and two with 30 or higher. 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 21, Kostecka has scored 477 points, an average of 22.7 to go with 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He has shot 54 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.
- Kostecka recorded his second double-double of the season at Navy, scoring 20 of his 27 points after halftime and grabbing 10 rebounds. He followed that game by scoring 23 of his 29 points in the second half against Bucknell.
- 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. He is 37 of 86 since, and including, that bucket.
- Kostecka leads the Patriot League in scoring this year with 21.2 points per game, and his 5.0 rebounds are 15th, third-most among guards. His points per game rank 27th, his 530 total points this year rank 16th in all of NCAA Division I, and he ranks in the top-30 in both free-throws made (123, 29th) and field-goals made (185, 17th). On the defensive side, Kostecka's 59 steals rank 12th nationally, and his 2.5 steals per game are 13th.
Dishing And Taking
- Isaiah Hart had career-high numbers in both assists and steals at Navy on February 2. The sophomore guard passed out a career-high nine assists and also finished with four steals against the Midshipmen. He is second on the team this year with 59 assists.
Sticky Fingers
- Loyola leads the Patriot League in steals per game (8.4) this season, a number that jumps to 10.3 in the Greyhounds first 12 conference games of the year.
- The Greyhounds are 15th in NCAA Division I with 209 total steals this year, and their 8.4 steals per game are 21st.
- In Patriot League games, four Greyhounds rank in the top-15 in steals per game: Andrew Kostecka (1st, 3.2), Chuck Champion (6th, 1.7), Isaiah Hart (8th, 1.5), and Jaylin Andrews (15th, 1.3).
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 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.
- Andrews finished with 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds in the Greyhounds' second meeting with Bucknell.
- In Patriot League games, Andrews has averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 28.5 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.
Statistical Differences
- Loyola's eight wins and 17 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 51.6 percent overall and 46.2 from behind the arc in Loyola's losses.
- The Greyhounds have held opponents to 73 or fewer points in each of their wins.
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 13.1 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 12 Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 3.6 points and 3.4 rebounds. He made his first career start at Colgate.
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 10.5 in Loyola's last 20 games. During that stretch he is the team's third-leading scorer behind Kostecka and Champion.
- Hart has shot 45.3 percent from the field over the Greyhounds' last 20 games. In the first two 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 11.8 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 12 Patriot League games, he has averaged 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. He also had his first career double-double on January 30 against American with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Getting To The Stripe
- Loyola has been adept at getting to the free-throw line through the first 25 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 492 times, making 350, and rank second 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 29th in the nation, and second in the conference, with 123 free-throws made this year.
Up Next
- The Greyhounds return to Reitz Arena for two games, starting on Sunday, February 17, when they host Lafayette College in a 2 p.m. contest.
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.
