Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland plays its first Patriot League road game of the 2019-2020 season on Sunday, January 5, when it faces Lehigh University at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
- The game will stream live on the Patriot League Network.
- The Greyhounds' eight non-conference wins are an improvement of four from last year.
- Andrew Kostecka scored in double-figures for the 30th-straight game on Thursday evening when he scored 37 versus Holy Cross. His point-total marked his 29th career game with 20 or more, his ninth this season; he also has eight games with 25+ this year. It was also his seventh career 30-plus point performance, second in a row and third this season. He has finished with 10 or more 59 times since the start of his sophomore year (2017-18). He has averaged 18.1 points in that span.
- Tavaras Hardy is in his second season on the Loyola sidelines after he was named the 21st head coach in Loyola men's basketball history on March 28, 2018.
- In Hardy's first season, Loyola improved its field-goal percentage from .438 in 2017-18 to .459 in 2018-19, rising from 218th in NCAA Division I in the category to 85th. The Greyhounds' assists per game jumped from 11.6 to 14.0, moving from 309 to 124.
Series History
- Lehigh and Loyola will meet for the 22nd time on the basketball court and 13th time as Patriot League opponents Sunday when the teams take the floor.
- The teams split the season series last year, each winning on its own home floor. With its win in the regular-season finale, Loyola now has an 11-10 advantage in the all-time series.
- In that March 2, 2019, game, Loyola had the second-best 3-point shooting performance in the nation of 2018-2019, making 75 percent of its shots from behind the arc (12 of 16) as it defeated visiting Lehigh, 92-73.
- Jaylin Andrews made five of those 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 21 points as one of five Greyhounds in double-figures. Andrew Kostecka scored 19 and Isaiah Hart added 18. Kenneth Jones posted 15 points, and Casmir Ochiaka had his third double-double this season with 11 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes.
About The Mountain Hawks
- Lehigh enters Sunday's game with a 3-10 overall record and 0-1 mark in the Patriot League after falling, 64-58, on Thursday night at the U.S. Naval Academy.
- Jordan Cohen leads the Mountain Hawks with 13.5 points per game, while James Karnik has scored 11.9 and has a team-high 7.7 rebounds per contest.
Last Time Out
- Andrew Kostecka scored a career-high 37 points and became the 10th player in Loyola University Maryland history to record 1,500 or more points in a career on Thursday night as the Greyhounds opened their Patriot League schedule with an 80-70 victory over Holy Cross in Retiz Arena.
- Isaiah Hart added 15 points and had a game-high five assists without a turnover, while Cam Spencer added 11 points and Brent Holcombe led all players with 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.
- Kostecka scored 20 in the first half Thursday night, but it was not enough to give the Greyhounds the lead at the break. Holy Cross went up by as many as 11 in the game's first eight minutes. The advantage changed hands seven times in the second half before Kostecka converted in the paint with 12:10 to go, enabling the Greyhounds to lead 55-54.
Kostecka's Big Night
- Andrew Kostecka had one of the finest performances in school history on Thursday night, making 15 of 21 field goals to score a career-high 37 points against Holy Cross. His 15 field goals made are tied for fourth-most in school history, and his 37 points are tied for 13th.
- He also moved into the top-10 in career scoring at Loyola, becoming the 10th player to score 1,500 or more in a career.
Non-Conference Numbers
- Loyola finished its regular-season non-conference schedule at 8-5, marking a four-win improvement over last year's 4-9 mark. The eight wins are the most by a Greyhounds' team since 2012-14 when the team also went 8-5 outside of the league (then the Greyhounds were in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).
- The Greyhounds' 5-1 record during December was its best since it had the same record in February 2013.
On Target
- Loyola not only had its best shooting night of the season December 27 versus UMass Lowell, it was the fourth-best performance from the field in school history.
- The Greyhounds knocked down 37 of 59 shots, good for 62.7 percent. The percentage was its best since March 3, 2012, when it shot March 3, 2012, win over Niagara in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Quarterfinals. Loyola's 37 made field goals on Friday are tied for eighth-most in school history.
- The 62.7 percent mark is the best by a Patriot League team in a game this season.
30 Last Decade
- Andrew Kostecka's 30-point performance against VCU marked the 15th time since 2010 that a Loyola player scored 30 or more in a game. Kostecka did it six times, more than any other player. Andre Walker scored 30 or more four times, Dylon Cormier did it three times and Erik Etherly accomplished it once.
And, 30 This Decade
- Kostecka also had the first 30-point performance of the 2020s, finishing with 37 on January 2 against Holy Cross. He now has seven games with 30 or more points in his career, three this season.
One And Only
- Andrew Kostecka does a lot of everything for the Greyhounds, and it is reflected in his statistics. He is the only player in NCAA Division I (through games of January 3) with more than 280 points (he has 327), 25 steals (32) and 10 blocked shots (12).
Rebounding Record
- Loyola's 53 rebounds against Elizabethtown on December 21 set a new school single-game record, eclipsing the 52 Loyola had in 2017 and the 51 it posted last year against Delaware State.
- All four of the Greyhounds' games with 50 or more rebounds have come in the last three seasons, including a 50-rebounding game at Lehigh in 2018.
Moving Up The Charts
- Andrew Kostecka had three steals on Jan. 2 against Holy Cross, moving him past former teammate Andre Walker (2014-18) for second all-time at Loyola with 198. Jason Rowe (1996-2000) is the Greyhounds' all-time record-holder with 272 steals. Kostecka also moved into sole possession of 10th all-time in the Patriot League in steals.
- Kostecka, a senior from Germantown, Maryland, is also climbing the school and Patriot League all-time scoring charts. Against Holy Cross, Kostecka passed Maurice Hicks (1,494, 1981-85) and Tom Gormley (1,497, 1983-87) to reach 10th in school history in points. With 78 points, he will tie Mike Powell (1,580, 1995-98) for ninth. Kostecka is 35th in Patriot League history.
At The Top
- Cam Spencer enters Sunday's game against Lehigh ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio. The freshman has 49 assists with just eight giveaways this year, good for a 6.13:1 ratio (a minimum of three assists per game are needed to qualify for the NCAA list).
- Spencer, a freshman from nearby Boys' Latin School, has dished out at least five assists in six of the Greyhounds' last nine games with just six total turnovers.
- He made his first collegiate start on December 1 against Binghamton and is now second on the team in scoring with 9.9 points per game, having scored 10 or more in eight of the last 10.
- Spencer is not the only member of his family with a strong start to the season. His older brother, Pat, has started all six games as a graduate transfer at Northwestern, averaging 9.3 points and a team-high 3.7 assists per game. The elder Spencer was a four-time All-American and the Tewaaraton Award winner in 2019 for the Loyola men's lacrosse team and is the NCAA's all-time leader in assists in that sport.
Dishing It Out
- Loyola has posted 20 or more assists four times this year through 14 games, marking the eighth time since Tavaras Hardy took over as head coach in 2018-19 the Greyhounds have had 20-plus.
- In the eight years prior to Hardy's arrival, the Greyhounds had 20 or more assists just three times and only twice against NCAA Division I teams.
- Last year, Loyola averaged 14.0 assists, up from 11.9 in 2017-2018. This season, it is averaging 17.0.
- Of the Greyhounds' 340 made field goals this year, 64.5 percent of them have been assisted. According to kenpom.com, that percentage is 10th-best in the nation. As recently as two years ago, Loyola ranked 332nd nationally in assist percentage.
Not Just Volume Scoring
- Andrew Kostecka is fourth nationally in point per game (23.4), but he is eighth amongst players averaging 21 or more with a 53.2 field-goal percentage. Inside the 3-point arc, Kostecka has made 59.9 percent of his 2-point attempts.
- In addition to his high ranking in points per game, Kostecka is 25th in steals per game (2.3), sixth in total points (327) and fifth in field-goals made (118).
Moving In The Right Direction
- Last season, the Greyhounds finished 347th out of 351 NCAA Division I teams in field-goal percentage defense as opponents hit 48.7 percent of their shots. Through 14 games this year, the Greyhounds are 196th nationally at 42.5 percent. Currently, Loyola is third in the category in the Patriot League after finishing 10th last season.
Shooting Numbers
- In addition to the aforementioned field-goal defense improving, the Greyhounds' offense is trending positively, too. Two years ago, the Greyhounds were 318th in adjusted offensive efficiency, and they moved up to 226th last year. Through 14 games, Loyola ranks 154th in the nation at 100.7, a measure of points per 100 possessions with quality of defense factored in.
- Additionally, the Greyhounds were 305th in effective field-goal percentage in 2017-18, and they now rank 31st (54.0) in the category that weights 3-pointers more significantly.
- Loyola has made 55.5 percent of its 2-point field goal attempts this year, good for 20th nationally (h/t kenpom.com).
From Downtown
- Kenneth Jones knocked down all five of his 3-point attempts against Fairfield en route to scoring a to-date career-high 19 points in the overtime win against the Stags, tying for the third-best performance in school history.
- Through 13 games, Jones is 19 of 38 from 3-point range and is second in the Patriot League with a .500 percentage from behind the arc among qualified players (minimum 1.5 made per game).
KaVaughn Converting
- KaVaughn Scott averaged 9.6 points over a seven-game stretch from November 25-December 27, a span that included three 14-point efforts against IUPUI, Binghamton and Delaware State, and a 13-point game versus UMass Lowell. During the stretch, he made 28 of 45 shots (62.2 percent), and he is now third in the Patriot League with a 61.5 field-goal percentage.
- Off the court, Scott has stepped into a leadership role in several areas. He serves as the co-president of Loyola's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and he is also a member of the school's Green & Grey Society, a group of 14 seniors selected to represent their peers with the university president and administration.
Kostecka In The Last 42
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers four times in the Greyhounds' last 42 games, dating back to last season. During that stretch, he has recorded 27 games with 20 or more points, 21 with 25 or better and seven with 30 or higher. He scored 13 or more in all but one of those games and had 18 or more in all but six.
Season For The Books
- Andrew Kostecka had one of the most statistically prolific seasons in Loyola men's basketball history last year when he averaged 21.3 points, scoring 682 in 32 contests. His 682 points were second in program history behind only Andre Collins' 2005-06 total of 731 which is the school record.
- The All-Patriot League First Team and All-Defensive Team honoree's 152 free throws made were eighth in single-season history, and Kostecka's 85 steals were good for third and are the most since Jason Rowe set the school record with 95 in 1998-99.
- Andrew Kostecka scored the game's first point February 9, 2019, at Colgate, and in the process became the 38th player in Loyola history to reach 1,000 career points. He is also one of six players in school history with 1,300 points and 150 steals.
Think Globally, Not Just Locally
- Not only did Andrew Kostecka's statistics and play resonate at Loyola, but his 2018-19 campaign stacked up against some of the best in nation.
- He was the only player in NCAA Division I to average 21 points or more and 2.5 steals or more per game last year, and he was 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 was the only player to average 21 or more points, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks.
- Four players – Kostecka, Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman, Charleston's Grant Riller and Austin Peay's Terry Taylor – took 450 or more shots from the field while shooting 52.1 percent of better. In the history of the Patriot League, only one player had accomplished that, Colgate's Adonal Foyle (1996-97). Research via sports-reference.com.
- Overall, he finished eighth nationally in steals per game, 11th in total steals, 27th in points per game, 30th in field goals made and 36th in total points.
In The Patriot League, Too
- In the history of the Patriot League, only two players have averaged 20+ points, 4.5+ rebounds, 2.0+ steals and 2.0+ assists. NBA All-Star C.J. McCollum did it for Lehigh University in both 2010-11 and 2011-12, and Andrew Kostecka did so in 2018-19.
Graduation Success
- Loyola University Maryland tied for the fourth-highest overall Graduate Success Rate (GSR) in the NCAA report released in October, highlighting the Greyhounds success in the classroom. Loyola had a 97 percent GSR marking the sixth time the Greyhounds have had a GSR of 97 or better. Loyola has ranked in the top-25 of the GSR in all 15 years since the report's inception.
- Loyola's basketball program was one of two in the State of Maryland that had a NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 100 percent for the most-recent report.
Up Next
- The Greyhounds stay on the road for their next game, heading to Hamilton, New York, for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, January 8, at Colgate University.
