Game Information
Opponent	Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
Game Notes	Loyola
Date	Saturday, December 4, 2021
Time	1:00 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. | Reitz Arena
Tickets	Purchase
Directions	Click Here
Watch	ESPN+ | International Video Stream
Online Media	Live Stats

Quick Hits About The Hounds

• Loyola University Maryland men's basketball hosts its second-straight home game on Saturday, December 5, 2021, in the first game of a doubleheader with Mount St. Mary's University.
• The game will tip at 1 p.m. and be followed by a 5 p.m. women's game.
• Cam Spencer leads the Patriot League in steals per game (2.4), and he is second in points per game (18.0).
• The 10-point deficit Loyola faced early in the second half on November 28 at Fairfield is the largest it has overcome for a win since January 2, 2020.
• Jaylin Andrews is the team's top returning scorer from a year ago after averaging 11.6 points per game a year ago to go with 4.9 rebounds. Golden Dike is the Greyhounds' leading rebounder back on the roster; he averaged 6.2 as a sophomore. Cam Spencer saw limited action at the end of the season due to an early injury, but he was key in the Greyhounds' Patriot League Championships run and finished averaging 10.2 points per game.
• Tavaras Hardy is in his fourth 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 three seasons, Loyola improved its field-goal percentage from .438 in 2017-18 to .465 in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, rising from 218th in NCAA Division I in the category to 51st.

Series History    

• The Loyola-Mount St. Mary's rivalry is the most played between two college basketball teams in the State of Maryland. Saturday's game will mark the 154th time the former Mason-Dixon Conference foes have met on the hardwood.
• The rivalry dates to January 20, 1910, the second season of basketball at Loyola. The Greyhounds won the initial meeting between the teams, 35-24, but The Mount holds a 100-75 advantage all-time.
• In addition to being the oldest series in state history – it predates Loyola-Maryland by two seasons – it is also the most-played. The 175 previous meetings exceed the 166 between Johns Hopkins and McDaniel (formerly Western Maryland), a series that started in 1930.
• In the teams' most-recent meeting on December 7, 2019, Loyola built a 32-21 halftime lead and went on for a 64-48 victory. Andrew Kostecka scored 25, and Cam Spencer had 15 to go with six assists. Kostecka scored 10 of his 16 first-half points during a 19-6 Loyola run to close the frame.

Last Time Out    

• Chicago State cut a one-time nine-point Loyola lead to two with 3:53 left in the first half, but the Greyhounds closed the frame on a 13-2 run to go up 42-29 at the break on Wednesday night in Reitz Arena. Loyola then scored five of the first seven in the second half, to run away for a 78-64 non-conference win.
• Alonso Faure scored five of his nine points during the final three minutes of the first half, and Cam Spencer and Kenneth Jones both scored five, as well during the overall 18-4 stretch. Jaylin Andrews made 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 20 points for Loyola, while Jones was one off his season-highs in points and assists, tallying 15 and seven.
• Spencer added 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, while Veljko Ilic scored 10, and his twin brother, Milos, finished with nine.
• Loyola led by nine on three occasions in the first half, lastly with 10:34 on the clock as Veljko Ilic converted two in the paint, but the Cougars rallied to get within a pair twice over the next six minutes. A Greyhounds turnover led to a three by Favour Chukwukelu at 3:53, and it was a 29-27 Loyola lead.
• Faure grabbed an offensive rebound on the next Greyhounds possession and was fouled going to the rim. He made the first free throw but missed the second, only to grab another board and lay-in an attempt to complete a reverse three-point play. Jones then connected on two free throws, and Faure caught a Milos Ilic feed for a layup to push the lead back to nine, 36-27, at 2:13.
• Spencer came up with one of his four steals on the next possession and threw ahead to Jones who was fouled in transition. Jones made both free throws to put the lead into double digits with 55 seconds left in the first half, and the margin would stay above 10 for the rest of the game.
• Loyola had more than 20 assists for the second time in three games, finishing with 22 as Spencer and Jones combined for 14. Milos Ilic added a career-high four.

Dishing    

• Cam Spencer and Kenneth Jones both had seven assists Wednesday night in the Greyhounds' win over Chicago State, the first time two Loyola players have reached that total in the same game in at least a decade.
• Spencer's assist total against the Cougars was a new career-high for the junior, while Jones was one off his previous best of eight that came earlier this season against College of Charleston.
• Jones now leads the Patriot League with 4.5 assists per game and has averaged six in the last two Loyola contests.
• As a team, the Greyhounds have now recorded 20 or more assists twice this season (24 versus Elizabethtown, 22 against Chicago State. In Tavaras Hardy's three-plus years as Loyola's head coach, the Greyhounds have 12 games with 20 or more assists. In the prior eight years, they had just three such games.

Shooting The Difference    

• Shooting success has played a pivotal role in Loyola's wins and losses this season, bared out by statistics.
• The Greyhounds have shot 46.8 percent from the field in their four victories, 3736.8 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, they are shooting almost 10 points lower, 37.2 percent, overall, in four losses, while their 3-point average dips to 22.4 percent.

Rookie Honors    

• David Brown III was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on November 29 after seeing the most-extended playing time of his young career last week.
• He logged 21 minutes off the bench Wednesday against Elizabethtown and scored eight points, and he then earned his first collegiate start and helped Loyola to its second-straight win on Sunday at Fairfield. He made a pair of 3-pointers for the second game in a row and had seven points.

Taking Care Of The Ball    

• Loyola has committed the same or a fewer number of turnovers in seven of its eight games this season, totals that help it lead the Patriot League in turnover margin with a positive 3.4 per game mark. Overall, the Greyhounds are averaging just 12.6 giveaways per game this year while forcing an even 16.0.
• Loyola is second in the Patriot League in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.30:1, while Cam Spencer leads the conference and is No. 11 nationally at 4.57:1.

Turnover Battle    

• The Greyhounds lead the Patriot League and are one of the top teams in the nation in turnover margin this year, averaging 3.8 fewer giveaways fewer than opponents, a stat that ranks 54th nationally. They are forcing opponents to turn the ball over on 22.1 percent of their possessions, good for No. 63 in Division I according to KenPom.com.

Sticky Fingers    

• Thanks to Cam Spencer and Jaylin Andrews ranking one-two in the Patriot League in steals per game at 2.4 and 2.1, respectively, Loyola is 11th in steal percentage according to KenPom. The Greyhounds are swiping a steal on better than 11 percent of opponents' possessions to lead the League at 8.63 per game.

Keep Playing The Stags    

• Kenneth Jones made 6 of 9 field goals, 4 of 6 from behind the 3-point line, and scored a season-high 16 points on Sunday, the most he has scored in a game since a November 17 contest against the same Stags team.
• He followed this year's game against Fairfield with a 15-point, 7-assist output versus Chicago State to raise his season averaged to 9.8 points and a Patriot League-best 4.5 assists per game.
• Over his career, Jones has played in 84 games, starting 18, and averages 6.3 points and 2.3 assists per game.

Stepping Into A Leading Role    

• Jaylin Andrews is the Greyhounds top returning scorer, after averaging 11.6 points per game as a junior in the shortened 2020-2021 season, and he showed his ability to step into a leading role during Loyola's 2021-2022 opener at North Carolina. Andrews started his senior year with a team-high 17 points, knocking down 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range.
• The game against the Tar Heels follows an exhibition outing against Johns Hopkins that Andrews led the team with 18 points, making 3 of 7 from behind the arc.
• Andrews then blew up for a career-high 30 points on November 12 against South Carolina State, going 11 of 15 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. The 30 points exceeded his previous career-best of 25 points from January 2020 against American.
• Andrews continued his climb as a consistent scorer and rebounder for the Greyhounds during the 2020-2021 season. He went for 13 points twice during the first two games of the year before breaking out for 22 on January 24 against American.
• He averaged 14.3 points during the Patriot League Championships, scoring 17 in the quarterfinal at Navy and 20 in the title game at Colgate. Overall, Andrews wrapped up his junior campaign by averaging 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in the 17 contests.
• Andrews also became a more efficient shooter, knocking down 44.8 percent of shots from the field during his junior season, an improvement of more than five percent over his first two years with the Greyhounds. He also picked up his rebounding by almost 1.5 per game.
• Through 87 career games, of which he has started 64, Andrews is averaging 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Spencer Returns    

• Cam Spencer missed the 2020-2021 season's first 12 games recovering from off-season surgery, but he made his presence felt in the Greyhounds last five games. He came off the bench in each of the last two regular-season games, scoring 10 while logging three rebounds, two assists and two steals on February 27 in 17 minutes. Spencer then had 11 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes the following day. He made his first start of the year in the Patriot League Quarterfinal, playing 33 minutes while scoring 10 to go with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
• Spencer raised his minutes played to 35 in the semifinal against Army West Point, posting to-date season-highs with 16 points and seven rebounds. In the five games, Spencer averaged 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
• The junior guard opened the 2021-2022 season with a 15-point, 3-steal effort at No. 19 North Carolina, scoring 11 of his points in the second half against the Tar Heels. He then had 16 points and six rebounds against South Carolina State, following by outputs of 32 and 23 points to close the Rising Coaches Classic against College of Charleston and Lipscomb.
• During his freshman campaign of 2019-2020, Spencer averaged 10.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 23 games. He had a 3.8:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• In the 36 games Spencer has played at Loyola, the Greyhounds are 21-15. He has averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his career and has a 3.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Golden Touch    

• Golden Dike has been a vital part of the Greyhounds' post rotation since coming to Loyola, and he averaged 25.7 minutes in 2020-2021 while starting every game but Senior Day.
• He finished the year averaging 7.1 points per game, just up from his 7.0 as a freshman in 2019-2020 when he made the Patriot League All-Rookie Team. Dike raised his rebounding average by a board per game, finishing ninth in the Patriot League with 6.2 per contest.
• This season, he had a standout performance against South Carolina State, grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds while dishing out six assists.
• In his 57 games played over two-plus seasons, Dike has shot 57.9 percent from the field, and finishing in the paint is not the only touch he's shown. He also has dished out 98 assists.
• Dike continued to compete with the Spanish National Team program last summer, competing for the U20 team at the FIBA European Challengers event. He led Spain with 8.0 rebounds per game as his side went 4-1 in the top division of the event.

United Nations    

• Loyola enters the 2021-2022 season with five players who hail from outside of the United States on its roster. The Greyhounds have two from Spain – Golden Dike and Alonso Faure – a pair from Serbia – twins Milos and Veljko Ilic – and one from Nigeria – Casmir Ochiaka.
• The five internationally born players are the most of any team in the Patriot League.

First In The First    

• The offseason news out of Loyola basketball was monumental as the Greyhounds had their first-ever NBA First Round Draft Pick when Santi Aldama was selected No. 30 by the Memphis Grizzlies after spending two seasons with the Greyhounds.
• Aldama was just the second Loyola player to be selected in the modern NBA Draft after Mike Morrison was a second-round pick in 1988. He also became the fourth Patriot League player drafted and third in the first round.
• Aldama's contributions will be missed by the Greyhounds as he was the only player in the NBA to average more than 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game last year (per SportsReference.com).
• The sophomore from the Canary Islands of Spain finished 12th in NCAA Division I in scoring (21.2 ppg) and 14th in rebounds (10.1).

Glass Ceiling Shattered    

• When Corin 'Tiny' Adams assumed her seat on the Loyola bench January 16, 2021, in its game at Lafayette, she became the first female assistant coach of a Patriot League men's basketball team.
• Adams joined the Loyola staff in October 2020, and she became the fifth female assistant coach in NCAA Division I history. Currently, she is the only female to hold such a spot after Maine's Edniesha Curry moved to the NBA's Portland TrailBlazers.
• Head Coach Tavaras Hardy added a second female to the coaching staff during the most recent offseason as Sydney Hines was named the program's director operations. The former player at Central Connecticut State, Hines replaces longtime director of operations Kevin Farrell who took an assistant coaching job at Belmont Abbey College.

Up Next    

• Loyola heads on the road next week for its last home game before Christmas. The Greyhounds make the trip to Olean, New York, to face St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, December 8, at 7 p.m.