Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland returns to Reitz Arena for the first of two-straight home games on Sunday, February 17, with a 2 o'clock contest against Lafayette College.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 23.1 points over Loyola's last 22 games, shooting 43.0 percent from 3-point range and 54.7 percent from the field in that stretch. Kostecka has 15 games with 22 or more points in those contests, 11 with 26 or higher.
- Kostecka is the only player in NCAA Division I to have scored 500 or more points and grabbed 60 or more steals. They are also two of four players nationally to average 20 points and two steals per game; he is averaging 2.5 steals, good for first in the Patriot League. Duke's Zion Williamson, Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith and St. John's Shamorie Ponds are the other two.
- Kostecka's 11 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 45.3 percent during 11 Patriot League outings (he missed the first two due to an injury). As a result, Andrews is averaging 7.9 points in the League after posting 3.2 in non-conference play; he is also averaging 3.4 rebounds in those 12.
Series History Versus Lafayette
- Loyola and Lafayette will meet for the 16th time in series history when the teams take the floor on Saturday. The teams have split each of the last two year's regular-season series, and the Leopards took this year's first meeting, 85-70, on January 9, in Easton, Pennsylvania.
- Loyola has won six of the 11 Patriot League regular-season meetings since joining the conference in 2013-2014, and the teams have split two Patriot League Championships contests.
- The Greyhounds earned an 83-77 victory in Reitz Arena on January 14, 2018, but the Leopards returned the favor with an 84-67 win on February 11, 2018, at the Kirby Sports Center.
- When the teams met last month, KaVaughn Scott eclipsed his previous career-high by seven points, scoring a game-best 21, but Lafayette made 11 of 20 from behind the 3-point line and took an 85-70 win at Kirby Sports Center.
- Scott made a career-best nine field goals and hit all but one of his four free throws. He topped his previous high-point total of 14 set twice, most recently against Dartmouth College in this season's second game. The junior post player also had a game-high eight rebounds.
- Lafayette, however, made six of its first nine 3-point attempts and went 8 of 14 from behind the arc in the first half, building a 38-29 lead at the break. Justin Jaworski hit four 3-pointers on five attempts, all in the first half, and scored 17 points, while Alex Petrie went 3 of 7 from deep to lead Lafayette with 19 points. Paulius Zalys added 16 points and seven assists off the bench.
- Lafayette went up by 14, 51-37, on an E.J. Stephens 3-pointer with 14:52 left in regulation, but Loyola scored the next eight points to narrow the gap to six. Jaylin Andrews hit a 12-foot jumper in the lane to make it a 51-43 game, and he then came up with a steal on the defensive end and went the distance for a transition layup at 13:10, forcing a Lafayette timeout with the score, 51-45.
- The Leopards' Myles Cherry scored out of the timeout, but Scott responded with a layup for the Greyhounds, and it was a six-points game again with 12:12 on the clock. Lafayette, however, reeled off 17 of the next 19 points to lead 70-49 on a traditional 3-point play by Stephens.
- Chuck Champion added 14 points for Loyola, while Isaiah Hart added 11 and Kenneth Jones scored nine.
Last Time Out
- Andrew Kostecka tied his career-high with 31 points, Casmir Ochiaka scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double, and Isaiah Hart made two free throws with 1.6 seconds on the clock in regulation, giving Loyola an 86-84 Patriot League at American on Wednesday.
- American held a 74-63 lead with 4:34 left in the game, but Loyola ended the game on a 23-10 run. The Eagles led by as many as 13 in the second half.
- Ochiaka gave Loyola converted a 3-point play on a layup and free throw with 1:04 left, and Kostecka stole the inbound pass, laying it in to cut the Eagles' lead to 82-81 with 56 seconds left. A foul on the defensive end four seconds later, however, send American's Sam Iorio to the free-throw line, but he missed both at the stripe, and Ochiaka came down with the rebound.
- The Greyhounds took more than 20 seconds off the game clock before Hart pulled up for a jumper that went off the mark. Ochiaka, however, was there for the rebound, laid it in and was fouled, converting his second-straight 3-point play to put Loyola in front, 84-82, with 31.7 seconds remaining. After an Eagles timeout, Sa'eed Nelson drove the right side of the lane and scored for American with 19.1 on the clock, tying the game for the 13th time.
- The Greyhounds bled nearly the entire clock before Hart drove right, drew contact and went to the free-throw line. He made both foul shots, and the Greyhounds tipped away American's full-court heave to seal the win.
- In addition to the 31 from Kostecka, which tied his career-high from December at Drexel University, Ochiaka more than doubled his previous scoring-best with 17 points; his high before Wednesday had come when he had scored seven points three times in the last six weeks. Jones added 14 points off the bench, and Hart tallied 10 to go with four assists. Champion had eight points and four assists, as well. Kostecka led all players with five steals.
How'd That Happen?
- Loyola came back from as many as 13 down in the second half to beat American, doing so while the Eagles also put up excellent offensive numbers. American shot 71.4 percent from the field in the second half, 64.6 in the game.
- The Greyhounds' biggest statistical advantage came on the boards where they had 13 offensive rebounds to American's four and 29 total to 23.
38th To 1,000
- Andrew Kostecka scored the game's first point February 9 at Colgate, and in the process became the 38th player in Loyola history to reach 1,000 career points.
- Kostecka also has 147 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 561 points this season are tied for 14th in school single-season history, with the totals Kevin Green and Jamal Barney put up in 1991-92 and 2008-09, respectively.
- His 127 free throws made rank 16th, and his 66 steals are good for sixth.
Stacking Up Nationally
- Andrew Kostecka not only leads the Patriot League in points and steals this season, but several of his statistical numbers stack up very favorably across NCAA Division I.
- He is the only player to average 21 points or more and 2.5 steals or more per game this year. He is also one of only four players – Duke's Zion Williamson, St. John's Shamorie Ponds and Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith – to average 20 or more points and two or more steals.
- Throw in blocked shots, and he is the only player to average 21 or more points, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
- Only two players – Kostecka and Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman – have taken 380 or more shots from the field while shooting 52 percent of better. Wright-Foreman has gone 236 of 454 (.520), and Kostekca is 198 of 380 (.521). Research via sports-reference.com.
- Overall, he is 11th in Division I in both total points (561) and steals (66) through games of February 14. His 2.5 steals per game are 14th, and his 21.6 points per game rank 22nd. Kostecka checks in 11th, as well, in field-goals made, but he has only taken the 29th-most field goals nationally.
Kostecka In The Last 21
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 22 games, recording 15 games with 22 or more points, 11 with 26 or better and three 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 22, Kostecka has scored 508 points, an average of 23.1 to go with 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He has shot 54.7 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.
- Kostecka matched his career-high of 31 points on February 13 when he went 13 of 20 from the field and finished with 31 in a come-from-behind win at American.
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.
- In 13 Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 4.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15.1 minutes of action. He made his first career start at Colgate.
- Ochiaka had scored seven points three times prior to February 13, but he broke out in a big way that night at American, logging his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the come-from-behind win. He scored 15 of his points in the second half and converted three and-ones with layups and free throws in the final 2:19.
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 10.2 in the Greyhounds first 13 conference games of the year.
- The Greyhounds are 13th in NCAA Division I with 219 total steals this year, and their 8.4 steals per game are 20th.
- In Patriot League games, four Greyhounds rank in the top-15 in steals per game: Andrew Kostecka (1st, 3.3), Chuck Champion (T-6th, 1.6), Isaiah Hart (8th, 1.5), and Jaylin Andrews (13th, 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 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 28.4 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 nine wins and 17 losses can be seen in statistical differences. The Greyhounds have held opponents to 42.4 percent from the field, 28.7 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 all but one of their wins (at American, 84).
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 21 games. During that stretch he is the team's third-leading scorer behind Kostecka and Champion.
- 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 11.6 points in Patriot League games, second on the team.
Getting To The Stripe
- Loyola has been adept at getting to the free-throw line through the first 26 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 517 times, making 366, 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 27th in the nation, and second in the conference, with 127 free-throws made this year.
Up Next
- The Greyhounds remain at home for their next game, taking on the U.S. Naval Academy at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20.
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.
