Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland men's basketball is back in Reitz Arena on Sunday, February 20, for its final home game of the 2021-2022 regular-season.
- The Greyhounds host Lehigh University at 5 p.m. in a game streamed live on ESPN+.
- Prior to the game, the Greyhounds will honor their four seniors – Jaylin Andrews, Kenneth Jones, Casmir Ochiaka and Markese Redding – in a pregame ceremony.
- Cam Spencer leads the Patriot League in both points (18.7) and steals (2.2) per game as of February 18. He also is second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7:1), a stat that ranks him No. 19 in NCAA Division I.
- Spencer is 20th nationally in steals per game, and ninth in total steals (58). His 58 steals through 26 games are eighth-most in school single-season history and the most since Dylon Cormier had 62 in 2012-13.
- Jaylin Andrews and Kenneth Jones are second and fifth in the conference in steals per game, too.
- Jones tops the conference in assists per game (4.8) and is No. 53 nationally in that category.
- The Greyhounds have the top scoring duo in the Patriot League with Spencer and Jaylin Andrews (14.4). Together, they average 33.1 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 Lehigh
- Loyola and Lehigh will meet for the 27th time series history when the teams take the floor on Sunday evening.
- After the Greyhounds' 69-57 win over the Mountain Hawks on January 16, 2022, each team has won 13 games in the all-time series.
- In the first meeting this year, Cam Spencer scored 26 points, and Jaylin Andrews added 17 as Loyola rallied from 10 down at halftime to outscore the Mountain Hawks, 46-24, in the second half for a 69-57 win.
Last Time Out
- Jaylin Andrews became the 39th player in Loyola history to score 1,000 career points when he made a driving layup in the second half, but Lafayette held off the Greyhounds for a 77-68 win at the Kirby Sports Center.
- Andrews used a high ball-screen from Golden Dike to drive the left side of the lane. He got into the paint and finished with a floating layup at 15:27 to score his 1,000th career point. He ended with 13 points, while Cam Spencer had a team-high 17 and Golden Dike added 12 for the Greyhounds.
- Early 3-point shooting by Lafayette, however, provided the Leopards with a gap that Loyola could not overcome during the game. Jon Brantley hit threes on back-to-back Lafayette possessions in the first eight minutes, and a Neal Quinn layup at 10:45 gave the Leopards an eight-point advantage, 18-10. Spencer scored at 10:26 to get Loyola back within six, but Brantley hit his third three in a four-minute stretch to enhance the Leopards leads to nine.
- Lafayette would go up by 11 on three occasions later in the half, but Loyola pared its deficit back to five four times before the break. Andrews' layup for his 1,000th point made it a three-point game, 43-40, early in the second half, and a Dike dunk had the margin the same at 14:56, but a Tomas Verbinskis three at 14:29 stretched the Lafayette advantage back to six.
- A three by Andrews at 12:17 got Loyola within three, 51-48, but that was as close as it would be the rest of the game. Brantley led Lafayette with 19 points, while Quinn added 18. Loyola had a 35-30 advantage on the boards, led by seven each from Jones and Dike. Jones' seven rebounds were a career-high that he paired with seven points and seven assists.
Crossing The Plateau
- Jaylin Andrews became the 39th player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career when on February 16 at Lafayette. The senior did so in his 104th career game and is averaging 9.7 points over his career.
Scorers Under Hardy
- Loyola is on track to have the total points scored leader in the Patriot League for the fourth year in a row since Head Coach Tavaras Hardy came to the Evergreen campus.
- Andrew Kostecka led the conference in points scored during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, as did Santi Aldama during 2019-20;
- This year, Cam Spencer leads all Patriot League players with 485 points through games of February 16.
Spencer Named To Lou Henson Award Watch List
- 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.
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 February 16, in points (18.7) and steals (2.2) per game. In 26 games this season, the junior guard has scored 485 points and has scored in double figures in all but one contest.
- He is also sixth in the conference in assists per game (3.5), and he ranks 19th in all of NCAA Division I with a 2.7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. His steals per game mark is 19th nationally, and he is ninth in total steals (58), 29th in total points and 55th in points per game.
- 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 53 career games, Loyola is 30-24 in games he has played, as he averages 14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He has a career 2.8:1 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.
- Recently, he had a career-high nine rebounds in the Greyhounds home win over Army West Point. He is second on the team in rebounds this season.
- 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. He had his fifth game with 26 or more this season on February 9 when he went 11 of 15 from the field and finished with 27 at Holy Cross.
- 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 4.8 assists per game, and this season, Jones has eight games with seven or more assists, the first eight of his career. Loyola is third in the conference lead with 15.3 assists per game.
- 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 44th nationally in assists per game.
- Per KenPom.com, the Greyhounds dish out assists on 59.6 percent of their made baskets, the 23rd-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.
Hitting Twos
- Loyola is second in the Patriot League in 2-point field-goal percentage this season, shooting 52.3 percent from inside the arc. In conference games, they're clicking at a clip of 53.3 percent on twos.
- 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 48.6 percent from the field in their 13 victories, 36.9 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, they are shooting 40.8 percent, overall, in 13 losses, while their 3-point average dips to 28.2 percent.
- Individually, Loyola has had better balance in its scoring during the wins where Cam Spencer and Jaylin Andrews are averaging 19.0 and 16.7 points per game, respectively, in the victories, while Kenneth Jones is at 9.4 points. In the 13 losses, Spencer has averaged 18.3 points, Andrews 11.9 and no other player more than 7.5 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 41.5 percent from the field in its 13 wins, 33.1 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, teams have shot 46.3 percent in the 13 Loyola losses, 35.9 percent from behind the arc.
Sticky Fingers
- Thanks to Cam Spencer, Jaylin Andrews and Kenneth Jones ranking first, third and fourth in the Patriot League in steals per game at 2.3, 1.7 and 1.5, 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 26 games, he has averaged 33.4 minutes per game, while producing 7.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest, all career-highs. He has a 2.3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks fourth in the Patriot League and is a career-high, as well. His 4.8 assists are 57th in NCAA Division I.
- His 124 assists are tied for 14th in school single-season history.
- Jones is averaging 4.9 assists in 15 Patriot League games this year, and his total of 73 dimes are 13 more than any other player in conference play.
- Over his career, Jones has played in 102 games, starting 36, and averages 6.5 points and 2.8 assists per game. His 281 career assists are 15th in school history, one back of tying current Denver Nuggets Head Coach Mike Malone (1989-93) for 14th.
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.
- 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 104 career games, of which he has started 81, Andrews is averaging 9.7 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 head out on the road for a couple of nearby games to close the regular-season. First, Loyola plays at Navy on Wednesday, February 23, before it travels to face American on Saturday, February 26.
