Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland takes its final regular-season road trip on Wednesday, February 27, to face the U.S. Military Academy. The Greyhounds are Black Knights will tip-off at 7 p.m.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.5 points over Loyola's last 25 games, shooting 54.1 percent from the field, 59.1 percent from 2-point range, 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 575 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 43-percent during 14 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 3.1 rebounds in those 14.
Series History Versus Army West Point
- Loyola and Army West Point will meet for the 14th time on the basketball hardwood. The Black Knights won both games during the Greyhounds' first Patriot League season, but the teams have split the regular-season series each of the last five years. Loyola won the rubber match between the two schools last year when it won a Patriot League Championships First Round game, 82-79, in Reitz Arena.
- Last season, each team won on its own home court during the regular-season. The Black Knights captured an 86-75 victory in a January meeting at West Point, while Loyola took a 79-68 decision later in the month in Baltimore.
- The Greyhounds have a 7-6 advantage in the all-time series after posting a 66-64 victory over the Black Knights on January 12 in Reitz Arena.
- Loyola built an 11-point halftime lead, 39-28, holding Army West Point to 10 of 28 from the field (35.7 percent) before the break. A Matt Wilson basket for Army West Point with 5:34 to go in the first half pulled the Black Knights within a point, 27-26, but Loyola reeled off the next 12 points, the final four coming on a pair of Chuck Champion baskets. Wilson's layup was Army West Point's final field goal of the first half, and his two free throws with just over 15 seconds left in the frame were its only points after the basket.
- KaVaughn Scott scored in the paint for Loyola 1:35 into the second, giving Loyola a 13-point lead, its largest of the game before Army West Point scored the next five points to get within eight on a Jordan Fox three at 17:24.
- The Greyhounds pushed the lead to 10 or more six times over the next nine minutes, the last time coming on a Scott layup with 8:28 to go in regulation. After that, Army scored nine in a row, capped by a Tucker Blackwell three in transition after a Fox steal. That drew the Black Knights within a point, 54-53, with 4:39 on the clock. The teams traded missed baskets on their next two possessions before Isaiah Hart knocked down a 15-foot jumper in the lane to push the lead back to three. Blackwell, however, got behind the Loyola defense and scored off a long Tommy Funk pass seven seconds later, and it was a one-point game again.
- Hart would have the next four points for Loyola, hitting two free throws at 2:49 and scoring on a fast-break after a Champion steal and outlet pass with 2:24 left. That layup gave Loyola a 60-55 lead with 2:24 to play
Last Time Out
- Isaiah Hart poured in 25 points, one shy of his career high, but it was not enough as the Greyhounds dropped close one on the road, 72-65, at Boston University on Saturday evening at Case Gymnasium.
- Hart added six assists, while Andrew Kostecka finished with 16 points while battling foul trouble for the Greyhounds .
- With the score tied at 63, Jonas Harper drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner with 55 seconds left and then forced a turnover on the defensive end that helped seal the victory for the Terriers. Boston University hit their final six free throws.
- The Greyhounds went down by as many as seven in the second half but continued to fight their way back. Trailing 44-37 with 13:05 left, Loyola scored 16 of the next 20 points to take a 53-48 lead at the 7:57 mark after a layup by Jaylin Andrews, forcing a Boston University timeout. Hart had 11 points during that stretch, including the 3-pointer that knotted the game at 48.
- Loyola led by as many as 14 on three different occasions in the first half, the latest coming after a Kostecka layup with 5:24 to go in the first half that made it 26-12. Kostecka became just the 10th player in Loyola history to record 600 points in a season with his first bucket of the game.
- Boston U. climbed back into the game by ending the half on a 16-6 run to pull within four at 32-28 at the half.
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. With his next point, he will be the 33rd to score 1,100 points at Loyola.
- Kostecka also has 154 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 615 points this season are seventh-most in school single-season history, passing Gerald Brown's 613 from the 2007-08 campaign. With five more points, Kostecka will tie Kevin Green's 1990-91 total of 620; he is 29 shy of moving into fourth by passing Green, Brown (2006-07, 643) and Mike Powell (1997-98, 643).
- His 142 free throws made are tied for 13th (Brett Harvey, 2008-09); he will move into the top-10 in that category with three more. Kostecka's 73 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.
- Four players – Kostecka, BYU's Yoeli Childs, Charleston's Grant Riller and Austin Peay's Terry Taylor – have taken 415 or more shots from the field while shooting 51.8 percent of better. Research via sports-reference.com.
- Overall, he is 11th in Division I in total steals (73) and 17th in points (615) through games of February 25. His 2.5 steals per game are 13th, and his 21.2 points per game rank 29th. Kostecka checks in 14th, as well, in field-goals made, but he has only taken the 33rd-most field goals nationally.
Kostecka In The Last 25
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 25 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 three.
- Over the course of the last 25, Kostecka has scored 546 points, an average of 22.5 to go with 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He has shot 54.1 percent from the field during those games.
- 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.
Dishing And Taking
- Starting with a February 2 game in which he had career-high numbers in both assists (9) and steals (4) at Navy, Isaiah Hart has increased his production in those statistical categories over Loyola's last seven games.
- Hart has averaged 5.4 assists and 2.0 steals in those games, and he has a 2.4:1 assist:turnover ratio in the seven. Hart has also averaged 13.1 points per game during those outings, buoyed by a 25-point outburst at Boston University, one off his career-high.
- He leads the team with 84 assists this year, 58 in Patriot League games.
- After battling through a rough start to the season in which he averaged 3.0 points over the Greyhounds' first five contests, Hart has rebounded to average 11.4 in Loyola's last 24 games. During that stretch he is the team's second-leading scorer behind Kostecka.
- 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 12.8 points in Patriot League games, good for 19th in the conference.
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 16 Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16.5 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.
- He logged his second double-double in nine days with 10 points and a game-best 11 boards against Navy.
Sticky Fingers
- Loyola leads the Patriot League in steals per game (8.5) this season, a number that jumps to 10.1 in the Greyhounds first 15 conference games of the year.
- The Greyhounds are 12th in NCAA Division I with 247 total steals this year, and their 8.5 steals per game are 19th.
- In Patriot League games, four Greyhounds rank in the top-15 in steals per game: Andrew Kostecka (1st, 3.1), Isaiah Hart (T-4th, 1.7), Chuck Champion (T-7th, 1.6) and Jaylin Andrews (13th, 1.4).
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, and he set a new career-best with 17 points when Loyola hosted Navy.
- In Patriot League games, Andrews has averaged 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 29.0 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 10 wins and 19 losses can be seen in statistical differences. The Greyhounds have held opponents to 42.9 percent from the field, 28.7 from 3-point range in their wins; meanwhile, foes are shooting 51.6 percent overall and 45.4 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).
Getting To The Stripe
- Loyola has been adept at getting to the free-throw line through 29 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 570 times, tops in the Patriot League, making 405, 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 30th in the nation with 142 free-throws made this year.
Up Next
- Loyola returns to Reitz Arena on Saturday, March 2 for a 7 p.m. game against Lehigh.
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.
