Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland men's basketball makes a quick turnaround for its next game after winning on Saturday at home against Bucknell. The Greyhounds now head to Hamilton, New York, for a Monday, January 30, game at Colgate University. The game will tip at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
- Loyola has shown a balanced scoring attack this season with six players averaging better than 6.4 points per game and nine at 4.2 or more.
- Deon Perry scored 22 points on January 11 at Bucknell, becoming the first Loyola freshman to score 20+ since 2019-20.
- Golden Dike has raised his rebounding numbers over the last 13 games, averaging 7.3 boards per game since December 10. During that stretch, he has three games with 10 or more rebounds.
- Kenneth Jones is the only Patriot League player to have 10 assists in a game this season, a feat he's accomplished twice.
- The Greyhounds lead the conference in steals going into the 11th game of League play with an average of 7.8 per game. Jones is tied for second individually with 44 total and 1.91 per game.
- Tavaras Hardy is in his fifth season on the Loyola sidelines after he was named the 21st head coach in Loyola men's basketball history on March 28, 2018.
Watch The Action
- Monday's game will air live, nationally, on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp and Mo Cassara calling the game.
Series History Versus Colgate
- Loyola and Colgate will meet for the 21st time in series history on Friday, the 19th since Loyola joined the Patriot League prior to the 2013-14 season.
- The Raiders lead the series 14-6 and have taken the last four dating back to the 2021 Patriot League Championship Game.
- Colgate won both meetings a year ago, winning 65-52, on January 24, in Hamilton, New York, and 64-56 in Reitz Arena.
- Loyola is 6-3 all-time against the Raiders on its home floor, including a 1974-75 win in the Greyhounds' former home, Evergreen Gymnasium.
- The Raiders took the first meeting between the teams this year, 101-67, on December 30, 2022, in the teams' first Patriot League game of the season.
Last Time Out
- Jaylin Andrews made 7 of 8 shots from the field and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line to score a season-high 24 points on Saturday afternoon in an 80-66 Loyola win over visiting Bucknell in Reitz Arena
- Deon Perry added 20 points to give the Greyhounds two players with 20 or more points for the first time since the final game of the 2020 season. Alonso Faure finished with 12 points, and Golden Dike added 10, and the two starting post players combined for 10 rebounds with five each.
- Thirteen Loyola steals led to 20 Bucknell turnovers with Andrews, Perry, Kenneth Jones and Chris Kuzemka each grabbing three steals.
- Loyola trailed for only 22 seconds in the game after scoring the contest's first nine points and taking a 14-2 lead just over six minutes in on a Veljko Ilic basket in the paint. Bucknell, however, got its deficit to two by scoring 14 of 16 points, but at 8:35, Perry knocked down one of his four 3-pointers to extend the lead back to nine, 25-16. The Bison had another run in them to pull within one late in the first half before going to the locker room down 35-33.
- Jack Forrest hit a three 26 seconds into the second half to put Bucknell in front 36-35, but Faure grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on Loyola's ensuing possession, and he knocked down a three 54 ticks of the clock later to put Loyola in front for good.
- Bucknell got it back to a one-point game, 50-49, with two Josh Adoh free throws at 10:53. Perry and Kuzemka hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Loyola's lead was back to seven as part of a 13-4 Loyola run that would see the Greyhounds go up 63-53 after two steals led to a Dike dunk and an Andrews layup.
- Loyola shot 52.9 percent from the field and held Bucknell to 42.4 percent. The Greyhounds made half of their 14 3-point attempts, while they held the Bison to 9 of 27 from behind the arc.
Righting The Ship
- Jaylin Andrews had his best game of the conference season on January 28 against Bucknell, scoring 24 points on 7 of 8 from the field and 9 of 12 from the line.
- The game raised his conference scoring average to 9.7 points after he entered averaging 8.1 points in nine games. Andrews also boosted his field-goal percentage to 42.2 percent in Patriot League play after he was shooting 37.3 percent through nine games.
- Andrews is averaging 13.0 points in Loyola's wins this year, 9.2 in its losses.
Big Games For The Freshman
- Deon Perry led the way to a 67-57 win at Bucknell on January 11, making 7 of 13 shots, 5 of 10 from 3-point range to eclipse his previous career-high of 22 points.
- Perry scored 11 of his 22 in the first 11 minutes of the game, draining three of his shots from behind the arc. He ended the first half with 14. The freshman from Baltimore also had four assists without a turnover in the contest, and Loyola outscored the Bison by 27 in the 30-plus minutes he was in the game.
- He followed that outing with a 12-point performance in the January 14 win over Navy for his first back-to-back 10-plus point games of the year. Following the two games, he was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time this season.
- Perry had the second 20-point scoring output of his career the second time the Greyhounds played Bucknell, tallying an even 20 while being aided by 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range.
- Over the last six Loyola games – Bucknell (x2), Navy, Lehigh, Boston University and Lafayette – Perry has averaged 13.3 points per game with five outings of 12 or more, raising his season scoring average to 8.6 per game.
- Perry has been more aggressive in getting into the paint during the stretch of six games and has gone to the free-throw line 18 times, making 15. Prior to the first Bucknell game, he had taken only 16 free throws this year.
Winning Formulas
- Loyola's wins this season have come with several common denominators. The Greyhounds are 7-0 when having the same or better field-goal percentage than their opponents. The January 14 win over Navy was the only time this year Loyola had won when having more turnovers than its opponent.
Dealing Dimes
- Loyola's record-setting 30 assists on December 22 against Goucher broke the previous school-best of 27 from a January 8, 1994, game against the University of Maine.
- It 32nd time in record history that the Greyhounds have had 20 or more in a game and sixth time with 25-plus. It was the first time Loyola had 25 or more since January 5, 2000, when it had 25 against Canisius University.
- In Tavaras Hardy's four-plus years as Loyola's head coach, the Greyhounds have 19 games with 20 or more assists. In the prior eight years, they had just three such games.
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 20 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.
Swiping Steals
- The Greyhounds lead the Patriot League in steals per game through 22 contests, averaging 7.8 per game with 180 total.
- Kenneth Jones is tied for second in the conference, averaging 1.91 per game, an average that ranks No. 72 in NCAA Division I. His 44 total steals are 49th in the nation.
- Loyola also ranks first in the conference, and 68th in the nation, in turnovers forced per game, averaging 14.9.
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. He led Loyola with 14 points on January 8 at Holy Cross, and he added 12 in a win at Bucknell. Kuzemka scored 11 of his 15 in the second half of a win over Navy.
- In 23 games this year, Kuzemka has averaged 7.7 points per game. Kuzemka, who has started 3 of 23 games, is the conference's top-scoring bench player who has opened less than half of his team's games.
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.
- 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 logged his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds against Goucher, making 7 of 9 baskets in 21 minutes.
- Faure is shooting a team-best 56.0 percent from the field this year, making 75 of 134 shots, and his 2-point field goal percentage is 61.7 percent (71 of 115). 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.
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 tied for 22nd in points (1,252), 11th in 3-pointers made (128) and tied for seventh in steals (159).
- Jones is sixth in 3-pointers made (180), tied for eighth in assists (369) and 10th in steals (149). He is 20 points away from 1,000 for his career with 980 to date.
- Against Lafayette on January 28, Jones became Loyola's all-time leader in games played with 128 (now 129). Andrews is now second at 128.
- Golden Dike, meanwhile, is now 18th in rebounds (585) and second in career field-goal percentage (.560).
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.
Jaylin's Game
- 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.
- 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.
- Through 128 career games, of which he has started 105, Andrews is averaging 9.8 points and 3.8 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 129 games, starting 63, and averages 7.6 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 as a rookie, Aldama stepped into Memphis' starting lineup early this year at the four spot and is averaging 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocked shots per game for the Grizzlies in 45 games played.
Up Next
- The Greyhounds will host Boston University at 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 4.
