Game Information
Opponent	Colgate Raiders
Game Notes	Loyola
Date	Monday, January 24, 2022
Time	7:00 p.m.
Location	Hamilton, N.Y. | Cotterell Court
Directions	Click Here | Spectator Information
Television	CBS Sports Network | Channel Finder
Online Media	Live Stats

Quick Hits About The Hounds

• Loyola University Maryland men's basketball plays the last of nine games in 24 days to start Patriot League play on Monday, January 24, at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with a national broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
• At 6-2, Loyola has its best record in the Patriot League through eight games since joining the conference in 2013-14.
• Cam Spencer leads the Patriot League in both points (19.4) and steals (2.3) per game as of January 23. He also tops the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2:1), a stat that ranks him No. 7 in NCAA Division I.
• Spencer is 23rd nationally in steals per game, while Jaylin Andrews ranks 70th with 1.9. They are one-three in the conference in steals.
• Kenneth Jones tops the conference in assists per game (5.2) and is No. 35 nationally in that category..
• As a team, the Greyhounds rank 31st nationally in assists per game (16.4).
• The Greyhounds have the top scoring duo in the Patriot League with Spencer and Jaylin Andrews (14.8). Together, they average 34.2 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.

Series History Versus Colgate    

• Loyola and Colgate will meet for the 18th time in series history when they meet for  rematch of the 2021 Patriot League Championship Game. The Raiders hold an 11-6 lead in the previous 17 meetings.
• The teams played once during the 2020-2021 season, meeting in Hamilton, New York, on March 14, 2021, in a game that Colgate won, 85-72.

Last Time Out    

• Kenneth Jones, Jaylin Andrews and Cam Spencer all made key 3-pointers in the final nine minutes of Saturday's Patriot League basketball game, helping Loyola get past American, 78-73, during a game in which the teams combined to shoot 63.2 percent from the field.
• The teams made 60 of their combined 95 field goals in a game that saw only 38 total rebounds, 19 for each team.
• Loyola took a 51-44 lead off a Spencer steal and fast-break assist on a Jones basket with 12:51 left in regulation, forcing an American timeout. Out of the stoppage, however, American's Connor Nelson made one of his seven 3-pointers, sparking a 10-0 Eagles run that put them in front 54-51 on another Nelson three at 9:29.
• On the Greyhounds' next possession, Veljko Ilic drew a foul, and on the ensuing baseline out-of-bounds play, Jones hit Spencer for a three from the top-right, and Loyola tied the game. Over a minute later, Jones and Nelson traded threes with the latter's tying the game at 57-57 with 7L41 on the clock.
• Andrews hit a three off an Ilic kick-out pass to put Loyola in front by three with 7:22 on the clock only to see American's Matt Rogers score in the paint to draw the Eagles back within one.
• Another baseline out-of-bounds play was successful for the Greyhounds, however, as Milos Ilic cut down the middle and caught a pass from Jones for a dunk at 6:35. The Eagles pulled level, though, on a Nelson three 26 seconds later at 62-62. Loyola turned it over with an offensive foul on its next possession, and American's Stacy Beckton, Jr., appeared to have an angle on a layup to put American back in front, but Golden Dike blocked the shot and grabbed the rebound for the Greyhounds.
• Dike quickly outleted the ball to Jones who got the ball to Spencer on the left side for a transition three at 5:11. Colin Smalls scored in the paint for the Eagles on their next possession, but then Andrews hit a jumper in the lane at 4:21 to push the lead back to three, 67-64.Two Elijah Stephens free throws with 2:50 on the clock brought the American deficit to a pair, but at 1:24, Spencer drilled a three to stretch the advantage back to five.
• Rogers scored in the paint at 58.1, and Loyola had possession up three. The Greyhounds ran the shot clock to under 15 seconds, and Spencer had the ball in his hands at the top of the perimeter. Beckton backed off, playing the drive, but Spencer pulled up to swish a deep three with 33 ticks on the clock. Beckton answered on offense, making a three with 10 seconds later, and American called its last timeout down 74-71. The Eagles committed three fouls before sending Spencer to the free-throw line with 18 seconds to go. He made both ends of 1-and-1, and Loyola led by five.
• Rogers took a Beckton feed and scored on a layup, drawing a foul with 10 on the clock, but he missed the free throw, and Milos Ilic grabbed the defensive rebound for Loyola. He was fouled and made both free throws with nine seconds left to secure the win.
• In addition to Spencer's 25 points, Andrews scored 17 and both Jones and Milos Ilic had 10 points. Veljko Ilic added eight points, and Dike scored six. The Greyhounds had 23 assists on its 31 made shots, led by seven from Jones. Spencer had five, while Dike and Andrews each had four.

Dialed In    

• Loyola shot 63.3 percent from the field on Saturday against American, the third-best field-goal percentage in school history. The Greyhounds took a season-low tying 49 shots and made a season-high 31 in the game.

Stats On The Start    

• Loyola is off to its best start in Patriot League play at 6-2 since joining the conference in 2013-14. The Greyhounds twice started 3-2 through five games, doing so in 2013-14 and 2015-16, but each time they lost their sixth game.
• Overall, at 12-7, Loyola is off to its best start through 18 games since it went 13-6 during the 2012-2013 season.

Spencer Named To Lou Henson Award Watch List    

• Two weeks ago, Cam Spencer became the first player in Loyola history to earn a spot on the Lou Henson Award Midseason Watch List. The junior guard was one of 40 players – one of two in the Patriot League (John Carter, Navy) – to be listed as midseason candidates for the mid-major player of the year honor.
• He was also named the Patriot League Player of the Week on January 17 after averaging 22 points in three wins the week prior.

Spencer To The Top    

• Cam Spencer has asserted himself this season as one of the top players in the Patriot League, leading the conference, as of games of January 23, in points (19.4)and steals (2.3) per game. In 18 games this season, the junior guard has scored 368 points and has scored in double figures in all 19.
• He is also fifth in the conference in assists per game (3.7), and he ranks seventh in all of NCAA Division I with a 3.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• This year's start has come after Spencer played just 28 of 49 games over his first two seasons at Loyola due to injury, and the Greyhounds were only 4-17 in games he did not play during that stretch. In his 47 career games, Loyola is 29-18 in games he has played, as he averages 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has a career 3.0:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Spencer has scored 20 or more points eight times this year, logging 25 or higher six times. He set a to-date career-high with 32 points at College of Charleston and came back the next day to score 23 against Lipscomb on November 14.
• He went for 26, making 12 of 12 free throws, versus Mount St. Mary's on December 4, a point total he would equal on January 1 in the Patriot League opener at Army West Point, again on January 10 versus Bucknell and once more on January 17 at Lehigh.
• 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.
• 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.

Dishing    

• Kenneth Jones leads the Patriot League with 5.2 assists per game and has averaged 5.8 in the last 14 Loyola contests. This season, Jones has seven games with seven or more assists, the first seven of his career. Loyola is third in the conference lead with 16.4 assists per game.
• Jones' 5.2 assists per game mark is the highest by a Loyola player since Jason Rowe averaged 5.75 in 28 games during the 1998-99 season.
• As a team, the Greyhounds have recorded 20 or more assists five times this season (24 versus Elizabethtown, 22 against Chicago State, 21 at St. Bonaventure, 20 at Army West Point and 21 versus Holy Cross). Loyola is 31st nationally in assists per game.
• Per KenPom.com, the Greyhounds dish out assists on 61.6 percent of their made baskets, the 18th-highest percentage in NCAA Division I this year.
• In Tavaras Hardy's three-plus years as Loyola's head coach, the Greyhounds have 16 games with 20 or more assists. In the prior eight years, they had just three such games.
• Cam Spencer and 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.
• Jones tallied a career-best nine assists in the Patriot League opener at Army West Point, finishing one away from his first career double-double. He then had the same assist total on January 13 against Lafayette.

Kuzemka Debuts    

• Chris Kuzemka became the last of Loyola's six freshmen to debut when he stepped onto the court in the second half against Boston University on January 19. He came back from a preseason injury to make his first appearance and immediately had an impact. He had an assist on a Golden Dike layup and then drew a charge defensively in his first two minutes of action.

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 49.0 percent from the field in their 12 victories, 36.9 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, they are shooting 40.2 percent, overall, in seven losses, while their 3-point average dips to 27.5 percent.
• Individually, Loyola has had better balance in its scoring during the wins where Cam Spencer and Jaylin Andrews are averaging 19.0 and 16.8 points per game, respectively, in the victories, while Kenneth Jones is at 9.0 points. In the six losses, Spencer has averaged 20.0 points, Andrews 10.8 and no other player more than seven per game.

Don't Forget The Defense    

• The Greyhounds' defense has been putting in the work, too, during the wins. Loyola has limited opponents to 41.2 percent from the field in its 12 wins, 32.4 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, teams have shot 47.8 percent in the seven Loyola losses, 35.9 percent from behind the arc.

Sticky Fingers    

• Thanks to Cam Spencer and Jaylin Andrews ranking first and third in the Patriot League in steals per game at 2.3 and 1.9, respectively, Loyola is second in the Patriot League with 7.8 steals per game.

On The Right Track    

• Kenneth Jones has been a consistent member of the Greyhounds' rotation throughout his career, averaging 20.8 minutes over 76 games heading into his senior season. This year, however, Jones has stepped into the role of a full-time starter and seen his minutes, and production, soar.
• Through 19 games, he has averaged 33.3 minutes per game, while producing 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per contest, all career-highs. He has a 2.3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks third in the Patriot League and is a career-high, as well. His 5.2 assists are 35th in NCAA Division I.
• Jones is averaging 5.9 assists in seven Patriot League games this year, and his total of 47 dimes are 15 more than any other player in conference play.
• Over his career, Jones has played in 95 games, starting 29, and averages 6.4 points and 2.6 assists per game. His 255 career assists are tied for 17th in school history.

Stepping Into A Leading Role    

• Jaylin Andrews was the Greyhounds' top returning scorer this year, 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.
• 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.
• During Andrews' 11 most-recent games, he has scored 11 or more in all but one contest, averaging 17.2 points per outing.
• 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.
• Through 97 career games, of which he has started 74, Andrews is averaging 9.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

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 was 12th in the NCAA in scoring (21.2 ppg) and 14th in rebounds (10.1).

Up Next    

• The Greyhounds have six-day gap in between games, their longest since December, before they play at Bucknell University on Sunday, January 30. That game will also be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.