Game Information
Opponent	Hampton Pirates
Game Notes	Loyola
Date	Sunday, December 12, 2021
Time	2:00 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 returns to Reitz Arena on Sunday, December 12, to face Hampton University in a 2 p.m. game.
• The game will stream live on ESPN+.
• Loyola is 3-0 at home this season and 21-14 at home in Tavaras Hardy's tenure at the school that dates back to the 2018-19 season.
• Cam Spencer leads the Patriot League in steals per game (2.2), and he is second in points per game (18.3). He also tops the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.91), a stat that ranks him No. 13 in NCAA Division I. He is 39th nationally in steals per game.
• Kenneth Jones tops the conference in assists per game (4.7).
• As a team, the Greyhounds rank 13th in NCAA Division I in total assists (165) and 36th in assists per game (16.5).
• 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.
• 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    

• Loyola and Hampton will meet for the second time in four seasons and the second time overall in series history. The teams first faced off in Detroit at the Legends Classic on Tuesday, November 20.
• The Greyhounds won the meeting, 75-66, as Andrew Kostecka (18) and Chuck Champion (17) combined for 35 points

Last Time Out    

• St. Bonaventure used a 9-2 run during the second half to take its first extended lead of the game, and the Bonnies pulled away late to beat visiting Loyola, 84-71, on Wednesday night at the Reilly Center.
• The Bonnies, who entered the game receiving votes to the equivalent of being ranked No. 28 in the Coaches Poll and No. 30 in the AP version, shot 72.4 percent from the field in the second half and 60 percent overall in the game.
• Loyola, however, had one of its best shooting nights this season until late, making a season-high 12 3-pointers while shooting 50-percent overall. Jaylin Andrews led Loyola with 13 points, while Cam Spencer, Milos Ilic and Veljko Ilic all tallied 13. The point totals were career-highs for both Ilic brothers.
• Loyola led by as many as six early and went up 31-26 when Kenneth Jones had one of his seven assists feeding Veljko Ilic for a layup with 5:13 to go in the first half. The Bonnies took a 36-35 lead on a Jaren Holmes layup at 1:28, but 25 seconds later Andrews hit a three for the Greyhounds to put them back on top.
• St. Bonaventure tied it at 38-38 with a Karim Couilbaly bucket before Spencer drained a three with 31 seconds left in the half, and Loyola took a 41-38 lead into the locker room. The Bonnies scored the second half's first two baskets, but Milos Ilic hit one of his three 3-pointers at 18:30, and Loyola was back in front.
• Jones made a three for the Greyhounds at 17:27 to make it 49-46 in Loyola's favor, but the Bonnies scored the next four points to go in front. Later in the half, Jones slipped a pass to Milos Ilic coming down the lane, and he finished with a dunk to put Loyola up a point, 57-56, at 13:27, but Holmes was fouled on a 3-point attempt, and he made all of his foul shots to spark the 9-2 run that would put St. Bonaventure up for good.
• The margin remained in the five- to nine-point range until the final two minutes when St. Bonaventure pushed it into double digits. Holmes and Jalen Adaway each scored 22 to lead the Bonnies.
• Jones was one off his career-high with seven assists for the Greyhounds, and Spencer had six, Golden Dike grabbed a team-best six boards.

No Bragging Rights    

• Neither Milos Ilic, nor his brother, Veljko, could obtain bragging rights for highest point totals in a game on Wednesday night as the pair both had career-high outputs of 13 at St. Bonaventure. They combined to make 11 of 14 shots from the field with Milos going 5 of 6 and Veljko 6 of 8. Milos was 3 of 4 from 3-point range, too.

Better Starts    

• Loyola's four-game winning streak that was broken at St. Bonaventure could be attributed, at least in part, to improved first-half shooting. During the recent stretch, the Greyhounds shot a modest 46.8 percent from the field, a number that is far better than the 34.4 percent they shot in their first five games of the season.
• As a result – Loyola was also improved in first-half 3-point and free-throw shooting – the Greyhounds have averaged eight more points (35.2-27.2) in the first half of the last four games.

Deep Contact    

• Loyola had its best 3-point shooting effort of the season on Wednesday night at St. Bonaventure, making 12 shots from deep against the Bonnies.
• The 12 connections from 3-point range are the most by a Loyola team since Tavaras Hardy took over as coach and the most since they made 17 in a February 15, 2017, game against Bucknell University. The 12 are tied for 10th most in school single-game history.

Dishing    

• Cam Spencer and Kenneth Jones both had seven assists December 1 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 4.7 assists per game and has averaged 5.4 in the last four Loyola contests.
• As a team, the Greyhounds have now recorded 20 or more assists three times this season (24 versus Elizabethtown, 22 against Chicago State and 21 at St. Bonaventure). In Tavaras Hardy's three-plus years as Loyola's head coach, the Greyhounds have 13 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 46.1 percent from the field in their five victories, 35.7 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, they are shooting 39.3 percent, overall, in four losses, while their 3-point average dips to 26.5 percent.
• Individually, Loyola has had better balance in its scoring during the wins where Cam Spencer and Jaylin Andrews are averaging 17.6 and 17.0 points per game, respectively, in the victories, while Kenneth Jones is at 10.0 points. In the four losses, Spencer has averaged 19.0 points, Andrews 11.6 and no other player more than eight per game.

Taking Care Of The Ball    

• Loyola has committed the same or a fewer number of turnovers in eight of its 10 games this season, totals that help it lead the Patriot League in turnover margin with a positive 2.7 per game mark. Overall, the Greyhounds are averaging just 12.8 giveaways per game this year while forcing 15.5.
• The Greyhounds lead the Patriot League and are one of the top teams in the nation in turnover margin this year, averaging 2.7 fewer giveaways fewer than opponents, a stat that ranks 89th nationally. They are forcing opponents to turn the ball over on 21.1 percent of their possessions, good for No. 87 in Division I according to KenPom.com.
• Loyola is second in the Patriot League in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.29:1, while Cam Spencer leads the conference and is No. 8 nationally at 4.71:1.

Sticky Fingers    

• Thanks to Cam Spencer and Jaylin Andrews ranking one-two in the Patriot League in steals per game at 2.2 and 1.9, respectively, Loyola is 62nd in steal percentage according to KenPom. The Greyhounds are swiping a steal on 11.5 percent of opponents' possessions and are second in the Patriot League with 8.3 steals 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 86 games, starting 20, and averages 6.2 points and 2.4 assists per game. His 204 career assists rank No. 24 in school history.

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 89 career games, of which he has started 66, Andrews is averaging 8.9 points and 3.7 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.
• Spencer went off for 26 points in the Greyhounds' December 4 win over Mount St. Mary's, turning in the No. 7 free-throw performance in school history as he made all 12 of his attempts.
• 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 38 games Spencer has played at Loyola, the Greyhounds are 22-16. He has averaged 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his career and has a 3.15:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

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.

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 will take nine days off for final exams before returning to the court on Tuesday, December 21, to host Goucher College at 7 p.m.
• The Greyhounds then return after Christmas for their final non-conference game of the regular-season. They will play in an 8:30 p.m. game at the University of Maryland on Tuesday, December 28.