Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland heads out on the road for its next two Patriot League games, starting with a 2 p.m. contest in Hamilton, New York, on Saturday, February 9, at Colgate University.
- After the Greyhounds' six previous opponents shot 55.4 percent from the field, Loyola has held its last eight foes to 46.3 percent.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.6 points over Loyola's last 20 games, shooting 43.6 percent from 3-point range and 53.0 percent from the field in that stretch. Kostecka has 13 games with 22 or more points in those contests, 10 with 26 or higher.
- Kostecka is 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 two.
- His 10 games with 26 or more this season are tied for fifth-most nationally.
- Isaiah Hart shot 38.8 percent from the field in non-conference games, but he has made 51 of 113 (45.1 percent) in the Greyhounds' first 11 Patriot League games, and he is the team's second-leading scorer in conference games with 12.5 per game. Hart leads the team with 32 assists in league play.
Series History Versus Colgate
- Loyola and Colgate will meet for the 12th time as Patriot League foes and the 14th time overall when the teams take the floor on Saturday afternoon for the second time in two weeks.
- Loyola won the first meeting this season between the squads, using overtime on January 26 for a 79-72 victory in Reitz Arena. The win snapped the Raiders five-game winning streak in the series that they lead 8-5.
- Loyola held Colgate to just one field goal in overtime, and the Greyhounds pulled away for their third extra-time victory in the four games, 79-72, over the Raiders in Reitz Arena on January 26.
- The lone Raiders' field goal in overtime came with less than five seconds left as Loyola had a pair of steals and forced four Colgate turnovers. The Greyhounds converted 9 of 11 at the free-throw line in overtime after connecting on just 4 of 10 in regulation.
- Colgate took a nine-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation but scoring by its freshmen helped Loyola come back.
- Chuck Champion led all players with a season-high 19 points for the Greyhounds, but three freshmen – Kenneth Jones (16), Jaylin Andrews (15) and Casmir Ochiaka (6) – who combined for 37 points. Jones and Andrews' totals were both career-highs.
- Jones knocked down three 3-pointers after Colgate took a 54-45 lead, his third making it a 58-56 game with 7:42 on the clock. After two Raiders free throws and a Champion 3-pointer, KaVaughn Scott caught a Jones pass and scored in the paint to swing the lead back to Loyola's side, 61-60.
- The lead changed five times over the next six-plus minutes with a Scott basket at 1:13 giving Loyola a 68-66 advantage. Will Rayman, however, scored just before the regulation buzzer to tie the game at 68-68 and send it to overtime.
- Neither Loyola, nor Colgate made a field goal for more than four minutes of the extra period. Andrew Kostecka and Rapolas Ivanauskas each made two free throws for their respective teams in the first minute of overtime, and the score was tied at 70-70. Both teams came up empty over the next 3:32 before Andrews was fouled on a baseline in-bound play, and he converted a pair of free throws for the Greyhounds. Andrews then had a steal at the defensive end, was fouled and made another two, stretching the lead to 74-70.
- After a Colgate offensive foul, Loyola broke the Raiders' press, and Chuck Champion scored in transition to spread the gap to six points. Colgate misfired on three 3-pointers during its next possession, and Champion grabbed the defensive rebound, was fouled and made two foul shots.
Last Time Out
- Andrew Kostecka scored nine of his game-high 29 points during a 15-2 Loyola run midway through the second half that saw the Greyhounds cut a 15-point Bucknell lead to two, but the Bison came back with seven-straight points and pulled away for an 84-72 victory Wednesday night.
- Bucknell went up by 15 three times early in the second half, the last time coming on an Avi Toomer layup at 10:43 that made it 58-43 Bison, but Isaiah Hart pulled up for a jumper at 10:29 that started the Greyhounds run. Two Kostecka free throws, and a Casmir Ochiaka layup off a Kostecka assist brought the game back within single digits, 58-49, less than a minute after Toomer's basket.
- Kostecka then had a layup on the Greyhounds' next possession, and he knocked down a 3-pointer at 8:28 after Loyola forced a Bucknell shot-clock violation. Toomer had two free throws at 7:48 to briefly stem the run, but after a missed Bucknell 3-pointer, KaVaughn Scott came away with the rebound and threw an outlet pass to Isaiah Hart running up the left sideline. Hart then threw an alley-oop pass that Kostecka caught and dunked to make it a four-point game with 7:15 on the clock.
- On the defensive end, Hart had a steal for the Greyhounds, and in transition Kostecka sent a behind-the-back bounce pass to Hart for a fast-break layup, and Bucknell's lead was down to 60-58 with 6:55 on the clock. Kimball Mackenzie, however, hit one of his six 3-pointers on the Bison's next possession, the first three of seven-straight Bucknell points.
- After Nate Sestina made it a 67-58 game, Loyola would not draw closer than five for the remainder of the game.
- Mackenzie finished with 24 points, and Sestina had 22 for the Bison. Hart added 17 for Loyola, and Andrews tallied 11.
Two Away From 1,000
- Andrew Kostecka fouled out of Wednesday night's game with just under and minute remaining, leaving the game with 998 career points. With his next two points, the junior guard will become 38th player at Loyola to score 1,000 in his career.
- This season, Kostecka has scored 505 points through 24 games, a total that ranks 22nd in school single-season history.
Kostecka In The Last 20
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers three times in the Greyhounds' last 20 games, recording 13 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 20, Kostecka has scored 452 points, an average of 22.6 to go with 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He has shot 53 percent from the field during those games 43.6 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. Including that made shot, he is 35 of 81 since, and including, that bucket.
- Kostecka leads the Patriot League in scoring this year with 21.0 points per game, and his 5.0 rebounds are 15th, third-most among guards. His points per game rank 29th, his 505 total points this year rank 15th in all of NCAA Division I, and he ranks in the top-30 in both free-throws made (122, 20th) and field-goals made (174, 18th). 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 (8.5) this season, a number that jumps to 10.6 in the Greyhounds first 11 conference games of the year.
- The Greyhounds are 11th in NCAA Division I with 203 total steals this year, and their 8.5 steals per game are 21st.
- In Patriot League games, four Greyhounds rank in the top-10 in steals per game: Andrew Kostecka (1st, 3.3), Isaiah Hart (7th, 1.6), Chuck Champion (8th, 1.5) and Jaylin Andrews (9th, 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.
- 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 3.3 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 eight wins and 16 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 51.5 percent overall and 46.0 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 11 Patriot League games, Ochiaka is averaging 3.9 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 10.8 in Loyola's last 19 games. During that stretch he is the team's third-leading scorer behind Kostecka and Champion.
- Hart has shot 46.1 percent from the field over the Greyhounds' last 19 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 12.5 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.
Getting To The Stripe
- Loyola has been adept at getting to the free-throw line through the first 24 games of the season. The Greyhounds have gone to the stripe 481 times, making 341, 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 20th in the nation, and second in the conference, with 122 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 to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, February 13, for a 7 p.m. game at American 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.
