Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland returns to Reitz Arena on Wednesday, February 6, for a 7 p.m. home game against Bucknell University.
- After the Greyhounds' six previous opponents shot 55.4 percent from the field, Loyola has held its last even foes to 46.4 percent, going 4-3 during the stretch.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.3 points over Loyola's last 19 games, shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range and 52.9 percent from the field in that stretch. Kostecka has 23 games with 22 or more points in those contests, nine with 26 or higher.
- Kostecka is one of five players nationally to average 20 points and two steals per game; he is averaging 2.4 steals, good for second 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 two.
- His nine games with 26 or more this season are tied for eighth-most nationally.
- Isaiah Hart shot 38.8 percent from the field in non-conference games, but he has made 44 of 95 (46.3 percent) in the Greyhounds' first 10 Patriot League games, and he is the team's second-leading scorer in conference games with 12.0 per game. Hart leads the team with 29 assists in league play.
Series History Versus Bucknell
- Loyola and Bucknell will meet for the 21st time on the hardwood when the teams take the floor Wednesday night in a series that the programs played the past four years prior to Loyola joining the Patriot League in 2013-2014.
- Bucknell holds a 17-3 lead in the all-time series sweeping last year's regular-season series, winning a narrow 83-78 decision in the 2018 Patriot League Championships Quarterfinals and edging Loyola, 71-68, two weeks ago.
- In the January 23 at Bucknell, KaVaughn Scott made a free throw with just over 35 seconds left to tie the game at 68-68, but Bucknell made three at the line with less than six seconds left to escape with a 71-68 Patriot League win over visiting Loyola Maryland at Sojka Pavilion.
- Isaiah Hart made a 3-pointer with 1:13 left, pulling the Greyhounds within a point, and the Greyhounds then drew an offensive foul on the defensive end to regain possession. Scott was hit on the arm by a Bucknell defender in the paint, and he made the second of two free throws to tie the game with 35.3 on the clock.
- Bucknell called a timeout and played for a shot late in its possession. Loyola collapsed into the paint to defense Bruce Moore, and he kicked it out to Jimmy Sotos on the high, left wing. Sotos launched a three with the shot-clock expiring and went to the ground. The Greyhounds were whistled for a foul, sending Sotos to the line where he made three free throws with 5.8 ticks on the clock. Loyola's 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the mark.
- The Bison led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Loyola cut its deficit to one, 59-58, when Andrew Kostecka threw a pass to Casmir Ochiaka in the paint for an up-and-under layup with 7:55 on the clock.
- Bucknell, however, held Loyola without a point for more than five minutes, going on a 9-0 run capped by a runner in the paint by Kimball Mackenzie to make it 68-58 with 2:57 left. Jaylin Andrews hit a three 20 seconds later for Loyola, sparking a 10-0 run by the Greyhounds. Kostecka scored on a traditional 3-point play at 1:52, and Hart's 3-pointer made it 68-67 with more than a minute to play.
- Kostecka finished with a game-high 26 points and career-best seven assists. Hart added 15 points, and Andrews had his second-straight game in double-figures, scoring 10. Ochiaka had a career-high seven points to go with four rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Mackenzie led Bucknell with 16 points, and Avi Toomer tallied 14.
Last Time Out
- Loyola closed what had been a 21-point deficit to one on two occasions with under two minutes to play, but the Navy scored the next six points and finished with a 71-68 victory in Alumni Hall on Saturday.
- 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 (7-14 overall, 4-6 Patriot League) 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 (8-15, 4-6) 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 took a 21-20 lead with 6:21 to go in the first half on a KaVaughn Scott dunk, but neither the Greyhounds nor Midshipmen would score for more than three minutes. Navy final broke through when Josiah Strong made a three with 3:07 on the clock, sparking an 11-0 Midshipmen run to end the half.
- Navy then scored the second half's first six points and 19 of the first 27 to lead 50-29 on a Kiernan three. After a Kostecka jumper with 12:39 to go that made it a 19-point gap, Wieck hit a 12-foot jumper to push the advantage back to 21.
- Fives' first three kicked off a 19-5 Loyola run that got the Greyhounds back within five, 55-50 on his second three of the day with 7:41 left in the game. Kostecka had eight points during the run. Two Kiernan free throws with 5:20 on the clock pushed the Navy lead to nine, 61-52, but Loyola reeled off eight in a row on a Kostecka dunk, a traditional 3-point play by Hart and Fives' third three.
- In addition to Kostecka's game-best 27, Fives finished with nine points, while Hart and Jones each had eight. Casmir Ochiaka tied his career-best with seven points and five rebounds.
Kostecka In The Last 19
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 19 games, recording 12 games with 22 or more points, nine 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 19, Kostecka has scored 423 points, an average of 22.3 to go with 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He has shot 52.9 percent from the field during those games 42.5 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.
- 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. Including that made shot, he is 30 of 72 since, and including, that bucket.
- Kostecka leads the Patriot League in scoring this year with 20.7 points per game, and his 5.1 rebounds are 15th, third-most among guards. His points per game rank 34th, his 476 total points this year rank 20th in all of NCAA Division I, and he ranks in the top-30 in both free-throws made (116, 27th) and field-goals made (164, 23rd). On the defensive side, Kostecka's 54 steals rank 15th nationally, and his 2.35 steals per game are 20th.
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. His nine assists bumped him into the team-lead this season with 55.
Sticky Fingers
- Loyola leads the Patriot League in steals per game (8.3) this season, a number that jumps to 10.6 in the Greyhounds first 10 conference games of the year.
- The Greyhounds are 18th in NCAA Division I with 192 total steals this year, and their 8.3 steals per game are 23rd.
- In Patriot League games, four Greyhounds rank in the top-10 in steals per game: Andrew Kostecka (1st, 3.1), Isaiah Hart (6th, 1.6), Chuck Champion (T-7th, 1.6) and Jaylin Andrews (10th, 1.4).
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.
- In Patriot League games, Andrews has averaged 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 27.4 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 eight wins and 15 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 51.9 percent overall and 46.5 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 10 Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 3.6 points and 3.6 rebounds.
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 18 games. During that stretch he is the team's third-leading scorer behind Kostecka and Champion.
- Hart has shot 46.9 percent from the field over the Greyhounds' last 18 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 12.0 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 eight Patriot League games, he has averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds. He also had his first career double-double on January 30 against American with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Champion Doubles Up
- Chuck Champion had his first career double-double November 11 against Dartmouth, scoring 17 points while leading all players with a career-best 11 rebounds.
- The junior guard scored 12 in the first half, including 10 in the final 10 minutes of the stanza. He finished 7 of 12 from the field. In two games (2018 and 2019) against Dartmouth, Champion has averaged 21.5 points against the Big Green. His previous career-high in rebounds was nine against Navy last season.
- Champion scored 16 points after halftime and finished with a game-best 19 points against Colgate.
- This season, Champion is second on the Greyhounds with 12.4 points and first with 32.9 minutes. He has scored 10 or more points in all but three of Loyola's games.
Getting To The Stripe
- Loyola has been adept at getting to the free-throw line through the first 23 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 461 times, making 328, and rank first 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 22nd in the nation, and second in the conference, with 116 free-throws made this year.
Building An Inside Presence
- A year after averaging 15.2 minutes in 26 games (two starts), sophomore post Brent Holcombe has seen considerably more action through the first eight games this year. He raised his scoring average from 4.8 last year to 11.0 this season, and his rebounds per game from 3.8 to a team-best 6.0.
- Holcombe played his best basketball of his 2017-2018 in Loyola's last four games of his freshman season, averaging 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in contests against Lehigh, Navy, Army West Point and Bucknell.
Up Next
- The Greyhounds head out on the road for their next two, starting with a 2 p.m. game in Hamilton, New York, on Saturday, February 9, at Colgate University.
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.
