Due to the forecasted effects of winter weather on the Mid-Atlantic region, Loyola University Maryland's men's basketball game against the U.S. Naval Academy has been postponed until Thursday, February 21.
The contest, originally scheduled for Wednesday, February 20, will now be played the following day at 2 p.m. in Loyola's Reitz Arena.
Fans can watch the game on the Patriot League Network.
Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland plays its penultimate home game of the 2018-19 regular-season on Thursday, February 21. The Greyhounds will tip-off against the U.S. Naval Academy at 2 p.m.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 23.0 points over Loyola's last 23 games, shooting 42.0 percent from 3-point range and 54.3 percent from the field in that stretch. Kostecka has 16 games with 21 or more points in those contests, 11 with 26 or higher.
- Kostecka is the only player in NCAA Division I to have scored 550 or more points and grabbed 60 or more steals. He are also one 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. Duke's Zion Williamson, Murray State's Ja Morant, Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith and St. John's Shamorie Ponds are the other four.
- Kostecka's 11 games with 26 or more this season are eighth-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 42.0 percent during 12 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 3.3 rebounds in those 12.
Series History Versus Navy
- With campuses located 26 miles apart (as the crow flies), Loyola and Navy will meet for the 35th time on the hardwood when the teams play Thursday afternoon.
- The Midshipmen lead the series 27-7 after winning the first meeting this year in Annapolis, Maryland.
- In that game, Loyola closed what had been a 21-point deficit to one on two occasions with under two minutes to play, but Navy scored the next six points and finished with a 71-68 victory in Alumni Hall.
- Andrew Kostecka had his second career double-double with game-highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Isaiah Hart had a career-best nine assists for the Greyhounds.
- James Fives knocked down three second-half 3-pointers, the final coming off a Hart assist with 1:58 to play, making it a one-point game, 61-60. Evan Wieck converted a pair of free throws for the Midshipmen to stretch the Navy lead back to three, but Kostecka hit a 10-foot jumper with 1:18 on the clock off a Kenneth Jones entry pass, pulling Loyola back within a point.
- On the next Navy possession, Wieck was doubled in the post, but he kicked a pass out to Cam Davis who hit a 3-pointer from the top of the perimeter. The Midshipmen scored again after Loyola came up scoreless on its next possession, a transition basket by Wieck on a long outlet pass by Hasan Abdullah.
- The Midshipmen then turned away another Loyola offensive chance, and Davis was fouled grabbing a rebound. He hit the first of two at the line to make it a seven-point difference.
- Wieck led a balanced scoring output for Navy with 13 points. Abdullah scored 12 points – 11 coming in the first half, while John Carter Jr. and George Kiernan each had 10.
- Loyola snapped Navy's six-game winning streak in the series with a 72-63 victory on December 29, 2017, in Reitz Arena, but the Midshipmen won the game on their home court. Navy had swept the season series in each of the last three years after Loyola won the two meetings between the teams in 2013-2014, the Greyhounds' first year in the Patriot League.
Last Time Out
- Loyola's Isaiah Hart scored a traditional 3-point play with 2:01 left in regulation to tie the game at 61-61, but Lafayette hit a three and a free throw on its next possession, and it held off the Greyhounds for a 69-64 victory Sunday afternoon in Reitz Arena.
- After Alex Petrie made the second of two at the free-throw line to put Lafayette up three at 2:46, Andrew Kostecka grabbed a long offensive rebound for Loyola to keep possession for the Greyhounds. Hart then drove the right side of the lane and hit a runner from a tough angle, drawing a foul with 2:01 left. His ensuing free throw tied the game for the sixth time.
- The Greyhounds' defense held off the Leopards for the majority of the shot clock, but Paulius Zalys kicked a pass to Justin Jaworski in the right corner, and he knocked down a three while being fouled. He hit the free throw and gave Lafayette a 65-61 advantage with 1:16 left.
- Out of a timeout, Kenneth Jones hit a corner three for the Greyhounds with 67 ticks on the clock, trimming the lead to one. Jaylin Andrews then came up with a steal on the defensive end for Loyola, but his three went off the mark, and Lafayette came down with the rebound. Jaworski was fouled and hit both free throws to make it a three-point margin.
- Loyola called a timeout with possession and just over 10 seconds left, but Andrew Kostecka's three with five ticks left rimmed out. Lafayette made two more free throws to ice the game.
- Kostecka finished with a game-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Hart scored 14 and had four assists and four steals, while Jones added 11, and Chuck Champion scored 10. Casmir Ochiaka had nine rebounds to lead all players.
- Lafayette built a 45-38 lead 2:39 into the second half with five-straight points, but a Jones jumper made it a two-point game at 13:29. Loyola later trailed by three on an E.J. Stephens jumper at 10:15, but a Sam Norton layup and a Kostecka dunk off a Hart feed put the Greyhounds in front. Hart then knocked down a three at 8:28, making it 55-51 Greyhounds, but Lafayette reeled off seven in a row to lead or be tied the remainder of the game.
- Jaworski led Lafayette with 18 points, while Alex Petrie had 16 and Zalys had 10.
Fourth Patriot League Honor
- Andrew Kostecka picked up his fourth Patriot League Player of the Week award on Monday, February 18, after averaging 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 3.0 assists in games against American and Lafayette.
- No other player has won more than two this season.
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 150 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 582 points this season are 10th-most in school single-season history, six more than Loyola's all-time leading scorer Jim Lacy had in 1948-49. With 18 more points, Kostecka will have the 10th 600-point season in program history.
- His 134 free throws made rank 14th, and his 69 steals are good for fourth and are the most since Jason Rowe set the school record with 95 in 1998-99.
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 five players – Duke's Zion Williamson, St. John's Shamorie Ponds, Murray State's Ja Morant 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.
- Three players – Kostecka, Charleston's Grant Riller and Austin Peay's Terry Taylor – have taken 395 or more shots from the field while shooting 51.9 percent of better. Research via sports-reference.com.
- Overall, he is 11th in Division I in total steals (69) and 14th in points (582) through games of February 17. His 2.5 steals per game are 13th, and his 21.6 points per game rank 25th. Kostecka checks in 14th, as well, in field-goals made, but he has only taken the 34th-most field goals nationally.
Kostecka In The Last 23
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 23 games, recording 16 games with 21 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 23, Kostecka has scored 529 points, an average of 23.0 to go with 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game. He has shot 54.3 percent from the field during those games 42.0 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 14 Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 4.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15.9 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 leads the team this year with 71 assists.
Sticky Fingers
- Loyola leads the Patriot League in steals per game (8.6) this season, a number that jumps to 10.4 in the Greyhounds first 14 conference games of the year.
- The Greyhounds are 11th in NCAA Division I with 231 total steals this year, and their 8.6 steals per game are 19th.
- In Patriot League games, four Greyhounds rank in the top-15 in steals per game: Andrew Kostecka (1st, 3.3), Isaiah Hart (T-4th, 1.7), Chuck Champion (T-7th, 1.6) and Jaylin Andrews (12th, 1.3).
Cementing His Status
- Loyola's modest three-game wining streak in January 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 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 27.8 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 18 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 51.5 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 10.7 in Loyola's last 22 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 11.9 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 27 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 539 times, tops in the Patriot League, making 379, second in the conference.
- 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 33rd in the nation, and second in the conference, with 134 free-throws made this year.
Up Next
- Loyola heads on the road for its next two games, beginning with a Saturday, February 23, stop to play Boston University in a 4:30 p.m. game.
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.
