Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland men's basketball plays its final non-conference game on the first full day of winter when Goucher College visits Reitz Arena for a 7 o'clock game on Thursday, December 22, 2022.
- The game is the middle of a three-game homestand for the Greyhounds that wraps up December 30.
Watch The Action
- Thursday's game, along with all non-televised home games will stream live on ESPN+.
Series History Versus Goucher
- Loyola and Goucher will meet for the second time in series history on Thursday night.
- The Greyhounds won a November 21, 2017, meeting, 97-45, as five players in scored in double figures and no Loyola player saw more than 21 minutes of game action.
Last Time Out
- A 7-0 UMBC run turned a 61-60 Retrievers lead into a 68-60 advantage with 4:01 left in regulation, and while Loyola men's basketball clawed back to within three, the Retrievers held on for a 72-69 win December 13 in Reitz Arena.
- Kenneth Jones and Golden Dike both had double-doubles for the Greyhounds. Dike had his first of the season and fourth of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Jones posted his second in two weeks with 16 points, 10 assists and six steals.
- Loyola went up by seven, 17-10, less than seven minutes into the game and led 28-21 with 6:07 left in the period, but UMBC scored 14 of the next 16 points to go up 35-30 with 2:22 on the first-half clock.
- Jones and Chris Kuzemka, however, hit threes on back-to-back Loyola possessions, and the Greyhounds regained the lead. UMBC knotted it, 36-36, with a Yaw Obeng-Mensah free throw, and the teams went into the locker room tied. Neither Loyola, nor the Retrievers, would lead by more than three for the first 13 minutes of the second half until Mason Docks gave UMBC a 61-57 advantage with 6:44 to play.
- Kuzemka knocked down a three to get the Loyola deficit back to one, but UMBC scored the next seven and led 68-60 after two Matteo Picarelli free throws. Jones fed a pass to Alonso Faure for two in the paint, and he then scored himself to get the margin to four, 68-64, at 3:02 before Jacob Boonyasith hit a fading jumper with a hand in his face at 1:54 to push UMBC's lead back to six.
- Two Docks free throws lengthened the advantage to 72-64, but Loyola's press kept the Greyhounds alive. Perry hit a three off a Jones steal, one of his career-high six, and then Docks missed the front-end of one-and-one for the Retrievers. Isaiah Alexander scored a pair of second-chance points in the paint with 15 ticks left to bring Loyola within three, 72-69.
- Loyola fouled Colton Lawrence, the Retrievers' leading scorer entering the night, but he missed both free throws, and Loyola had the chance to tie with less than 10 seconds left. A Jones 3-point attempt went off the iron, however, and UMBC secured the rebound for the win.
- Four Greyhounds scored in double figures, led by Jones' 16. Kuzemka had 14, while Perry added 11 and Dike had 10.
Sharing The Scoring
- Through 12 games, six different players have led, or shared for the team-lead, in scoring this season. Nine different Greyhounds have logged games with 10-plus points, as well.
- Three of the players who have led the team in scoring this year – David Brown III, Alonso Faure, Chris Kuzemka and Deon Perry – had not led the team in scoring prior to this season, and only Faure (three times) had a game with 10 or more points.
Tale Of The Turnover Margin
- Loyola's wins and losses can be seen statistically in the turnover margin this season. In four wins, Loyola is +5.0 in the turnover margin, averaging 13.0 (52 total) to its opponents' 18.0 (72). Conversely, in Loyola's eight losses, the Greyhounds are -2.1 in turnovers with 16.3 to opponents' 14.1.
Ten Dimes
- Kenneth Jones dished out 10 assists for the first time in his career on November 30 at Binghamton, posting his first double-double in the process (13 points). He repeated the performance less than two weeks later when he had 16 points, 10 assists and six steals on December 13 against UMBC.
- Jones is one of 15 players nationally to have two games with 10 or more assists this season.
- Jones had nine assists in a pair of games last season while leading the Patriot League in helpers. His 10 in the two games this year are the most by a player in the conference. He is one of 29 players in Loyola history with 10 or more assists in a game.
Taking Advantage Of Time
- Chris Kuzemka missed two-thirds of his freshman season with an ankle injury suffered during the preseason, but he came back to average 7.8 minutes in 11 outings late in the year.
- He opened the season with seven points and four rebounds at DePaul and has continued to contribute significantly since.
- In the finale of the Emerald Coast Classic, Kuzemka made 4 of 7 from 3-point range and scored 12 points to go with three assists in 27 minutes during the win.
- Then, for the second game in a row, Kuzemka had a career-high night in the points column, making 6 of 7 shots, 5 of 6 from 3-point range, finishing with 18 points at Binghamton. He posted his third double-digit scoring night at Hampton, making 4 of 5 from three and scoring 14, a point-total he matched on December 13 against UMBC.
- In 12 games this year, Kuzemka has averaged 7.8 points per game, and his .444 mark from 3-point range ranks ninth in the Patriot League.
Faure Rounding Into Form
- Alonso Faure did not play in the Greyhounds' preseason scrimmage or exhibition due to an injury, and he played just nine minutes in the opener against DePaul before a hand injury forced him out for the second half and the following game at Penn State. He has come back strong, however, averaging 11.0 points in the Greyhounds' last 10 games.
- The native of Alicante, Spain, scored eight in 19 minutes versus Brown and then had a career-best 18 points – making 8 of 11 shots – and three steals in 20 minutes versus Washington College.
- He then saw 26 minutes of action against Clemson and went 6 of 9 from the field to score a game-high 15 points while leading Loyola with six rebounds. In the first game of the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida, Faure went 5 of 7 from the field and scored 10 to go with seven rebounds.
- He continued to convert from the field, making 7 of 10 for 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds at Binghamton.
- Faure is shooting a team-best 57.7 percent from the field in his first eight games this year, making 41 of 71 shots. His field-goal percentage this season ranks fifth in the Patriot League. Entering this year, he was shooting 50.7 percent in his career after putting up nearly identical numbers of 34 of 67 (.5074) in 2020-2021 and 35 of 69 (.5072) last year.
First-Year Starters
- Deon Perry and Isaiah Alexander have both come into the lineup this season and seen considerable minutes with Perry starting all nine games and Alexander opening each of the last six.
- Perry is fourth on the team with 8.0 points per game after scoring a to-date career-high 14 against Coppin State, and he is second with 2.2 assists per game. Alexander is close behind with 6.4 points per game, and he is second on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game.
Putting Up Numbers
- Kenneth Jones opened his fifth season with the Greyhounds in impressive fashion, tying his collegiate high with 20 points in the opener at DePaul. He made 4 of 7 from 3-point range and 8 of 13 from the field.
- The total matched his previous high of 20 points set on February 23, 2022, at the U.S. Naval Academy where he made 7 of 10 shots and 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
- Jaylin Andrews then had the second game with 20 or more points this year for Loyola, tallying 23 in the second contest at Penn State. He went 9 of 16 from the field and logged his 10th career game with 20 or more points.
- Andrews and Jones tied for team- and game-high honors in Loyola's third game, scoring 18 points each.
- Both players were in double figures at Binghamton as Andrews had a game-high 19, and Jones added 13.
Chart Climbers
- Jaylin Andrews and Kenneth Jones both took advantage of their fifth years of eligibility, and they are continuing to climb the Loyola career-record charts.
- Andrews is now 30th in points (1,144), tied for 12th in 3-pointers made (21) and ninth in steals (149).
- Jones is tied for seventh in 3-pointers made (162), 12th in assists (344) and tied for 12th in steals (135).
- Golden Dike, meanwhile, is now 23rd in rebounds (509) and second in career field-goal percentage (.567).
Business Suits Required
- Three Greyhounds – Jaylin Andrews, Kenneth Jones and Markese Redding – returned to the Loyola roster this season as graduate students. All three are completing classes in the fall and spring semesters to earn their M.B.A. degrees.
Scorers Under Hardy
- Loyola has had the total points scored leader in the Patriot League fourth year in a row since Head Coach Tavaras Hardy came to the Evergreen campus for the 2018-19 season.
- Andrew Kostecka led the conference in points scored during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, as did Santi Aldama during 2019-20.
- Last year, Cam Spencer leads all Patriot League players with 566 points.
Guardian of the Game
- Tavaras Hardy was named the recipient of the 2022 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardian of the Game Award for Inclusion, honoring Hardy and the Greyhounds' commitment to building a program that embodies all cultures and backgrounds.
- Hardy formed a coaching staff that includes the only female assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, a female director of operations and previously a former European coach.
- The Greyhounds have also recruited student-athletes from diverse backgrounds, including from four other countries.
Stepping Into A Leading Role
- Jaylin Andrews was the Greyhounds' top returning scorer last 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.
- He finished the 2021-22 season ranked ninth in the Patriot League in points per game at 13.7, while he also averaged 1.4 steals and 4.1 rebounds per game.
- Andrews became the 39th player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career when on February 16, 2022, at Lafayette, his 104th career game.
- 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 that year's 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 117 career games, of which he has started 94, Andrews is averaging 9.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
On The Right Track
- Kenneth Jones was a consistent member of the Greyhounds' rotation throughout the first three years of his career, averaging 20.8 minutes over 76 games heading into his senior season. In 2021-22, however, Jones stepped into the role of a full-time starter and saw his minutes, and production, soar.
- He averaged 33.3 minutes per game, while producing 8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per contest, all career-highs. He had a 2.21:1 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks third in the Patriot League and is a career-high, as well. His 4.6 assists were 58th in NCAA Division I.
- His 139 assists were 10th in school single-season history.
- Jones averaged 4.6 assists in 18 Patriot League regular-season games last year, and his total of 83 dimes were 14 more than any other player in conference play.
- Over his career, Jones has played in 118 games, starting 52, and averages 7.2 points and 2.9 assists per game.
At The Next Level
- Former Loyola standout Santi Aldama has made a considerable impact in his second NBA season. Aldama, who played for the Greyhounds from 2018-2020, earning 2019 Patriot League All-Rookie honors and then 2020 All-Patriot League First Team recognition, was a first-round pick of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2021 NBA Draft.
- After seeing action in 32 games a rookie, Aldama stepped into Memphis' starting lineup early this year at the four spot and is averaging 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocked shots per game for the Grizzlies through 28 games.
Up Next
- Loyola will play its final game of the 2022 calendar year on Friday, December 30, when it opens Patriot League play with a 7 p.m. home game against Colgate University.
- The Greyhounds then head to Washington, D.C., for a 2 p.m. game on Monday, January 2, contest at American University.
