Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland enters the Patriot League Championships on Tuesday, February 28, with a first-round game against Holy Cross at 7 p.m. in Reitz Arena.
- The contest will stream on ESPN+.
- Loyola has won four out of its last five games overall and its last three at home.
- In those four wins, the Greyhounds have averaged 84.3 points.
- Deon Perry has raised his scoring average throughout conference play and is averaging 13.6 points in 18 Patriot League games. In 13 non-conference outings, he averaged 7.8 per game.
- Golden Dike and Alonso Faure have similarly boosted their rebounding numbers during the conference season. Faure has averaged 6.9 against Patriot League teams, compared to 4.8 in non-league games. Dike is up to 6.6 over 6.0 earlier in the year.
- 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 through the end of the regular season with an average of 7.7 per game. Jones is third individually with 54 total and 1.6 per game, and Deon Perry ranks sixth in the conference with 51 total, 33 in Patriot League games.
Watch The Action
- Saturday game, along with all non-televised Patriot League contests, will stream live on ESPN+.
Series History Versus Holy Cross
- Loyola and Holy Cross are set to meet for the 25th in series history and the 21st time since Loyola joined the Patriot League for the 2013-14 season.
- The Crusaders hold a 13-11 lead in the all-time series after the teams split this season's series with each winning on its own home floor. The Crusaders had a 63-55 win on January 8 in Worcester, Massachusetts, before the Greyhounds won, 90-68, in Baltimore last week.
- Loyola is 7-4 all-time in games played in Baltimore.
- This game will be the third time the teams have met in the Patriot League Championships. Holy Cross scored wins in first-round games against the Greyhounds in 2015 (Baltimore) and 2016 (Worcester).
Patriot League Championships History
- Loyola is making its 10th appearance in the Patriot League Championships since joining the conference in 2013-14. The Greyhounds are 4-9 in the Championships overall, 2-5 in first-round games, 1-3 in the quarterfinals and 1-0 in the semifinals and 0-1 in the championship game.
Last Time Out
- Loyola trailed by as many as nine in the second and was down four with less than two minutes to play on Saturday, but the Greyhounds forced overtime, and a David Brown III 3-pointer put the Greyhounds in front for good during an 83-77 Patriot League victory over American.
- Kenneth Jones, who was one of two Loyola players to score 20 or more points, finishing with 21, drove to the free throw line and threw a pass to Brown in the deep corner, and his shot from in front of the Loyola bench found net for his first points of the game.
- The shot with 49 seconds left gave Loyola a 78-76 lead, and Loyola made 5 of 8 free throws from that point forward to secure the win.
- Perry led Loyola with 22 points as one of four players in double figures. In addition to Jones' 21, Faure scored 16 points and Andrews had 13, nine that came in the second half or overtime. Faure led Loyola with nine rebounds.
Second Half Story
- Loyola finished the first half of Patriot League play with a 2-7 record, but but it went 5-4 during the second half.
- Improved offense was the key to the improved second half as the Greyhounds shot 47.3 percent from the field, 40.4 from 3-point range and 70.4 from the free-throw line. During the first half of the conference schedule, Loyola shot 43.7 overall, 31.3 from 3-point range and 57.1 from the line. This led to an increase in scoring from 59.7 points per game to 74.4
- Assists were up, as well, going from 10.9 to 15.1, while turnovers decreased from 14.6 to 10.8.
- Individually, Kenneth Jones was the only Loyola player averaging more than nine points per game in the first nine conference games, but in the second half, all five Greyhounds starters – Deon Perry (18.7), Jaylin Andrews (13.9), Jones (11.4), Alonso Faure (11.3), and Golden Dike (8.4) – were at eight points or more.
- Perry made the biggest increase, going from 8.4 points in the first nine games to 18.7 in the last nine. Faure raised his scoring average from 6.7 to 11.3, while Andrews jumped from 8.1 to 13.9.
Playing Big
- Deon Perry, who was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team following the regular season, has been the Greyhounds' leading scorer over their last 14 games, averaging 16.0 points in a stretch that opened January 11 with a then-career-high 22 at Bucknell.
- The 5-foot-8 guard has shot 45.6 percent (47 of 103) from 3-point range during the 14 games, raising his per-game scoring average from 6.9 after the January 8 game at Holy Cross to its current mark of 11.1.
- Perry has been more aggressive in getting into the paint during the stretch of 13 games and has gone to the free-throw line 47 times, making 43. Prior to the first Bucknell game, he had taken only 16 free throws this year.
- In his last nine games, Perry has averaged 18.7 points per game and is 36 of 73 from 3-point range (49.3 percent).
- Defensively, Perry has 19 steals in Loyola's last nine games to raise his season total to 51, a number that is sixth in the Patriot League. He was third in the conference in steals in League games with 33.
In Terms Of Freshmen
- Perry's 28 points on February 11 at Lehigh are a to-date career-high, and they're the most by a Loyola freshman since Lucious Jordan scored 28 in February 2002, a stretch of 21 years.
- Perry has five games with 20 or more points, the most by a Loyola freshman since Jason Rowe had six of the same ilk in 1996-97. Rowe went on to finish his career ranked fourth all-time in points at Loyola, and he is now fifth with 1,703.
- Amongst a strong crop of Patriot League freshmen this season, Perry's 13.6 points during conference play ranks third behind Holy Cross's Will Batchelder (14.6) and Army West Point's Ethan Roberts (14.3). Overall, Perry's scoring average ranks 11th among all players.
One Of A Kind
- Perry became the first player in Patriot Legaue history to earn Player and Rookie of the Week in the same week when he garnered the honors on February 27. He averaged 24.5 points over the last two regular-season games, wins over Holy Cross and American, to take the awards.
Righting The Ship
- Jaylin Andrews had his best game of the conference season against Bucknell on January 28, scoring 24 points on 7 of 8 from the field and 9 of 12 from the line.
- The game, and nine subsequent outings to close the regular season, raised his conference scoring average to 11.1 points after he entered averaging 8.1 points in nine games. Andrews shot 50 percent from the field overall in the last nine Patriot League play after he was shooting 37.3 percent through the first nine games.
- Andrews is averaging 13.5 points in Loyola's wins this year, 9.7 in its losses.
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 23 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 31 contests, averaging 7.7 per game with 239 total. Loyola's steals per game rank 62nd in the nation.
- Kenneth Jones is third in the conference, averaging 1.74 per game, an average that ranks No. 89 in NCAA Division I. His 54 total steals are 61st in the nation. Deon Perry is sixth in the conference with 1.65 steals per game. He's 78th nationally with 51 total steals.
- Loyola also ranks first in the conference, and 87th in the nation, in turnovers forced per game, averaging 14.03.
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 31 games this year, Kuzemka has averaged 6.7 points per game. Kuzemka, who has started 3 of 31 games, is the conference's No. 2 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. He posted his second double-double with 16 points and 10 boards at Lehigh in February, and he followed that with 13 and eight against Lafayette.
- Faure is shooting a team-best 58.7 percent from the field this year, making 111 of 189 shots, and his 2-point field goal percentage is 64.3 percent (101 of 157). 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.
- Faure has scored in double-figures in each of Loyola's last five games – the longest stretch of his career – and has averaged 13.8 in those games along with 8.6 rebounds
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 16th in points (1,353), 11th in 3-pointers made (133) and seventh in steals (166).
- Jones is fourth in 3-pointers made (195), fifth in assists (405) and tied for eighth in steals (159). On February 4, he became the 41st player in school history with 1,000 points and now has 1,077.
- Against Lafayette on January 28, Jones became Loyola's all-time leader in games played with 128 (now 137). Andrews is now second at 136.
- Golden Dike, meanwhile, is now tied for 13th in rebounds (638) and second in career field-goal percentage (.560).
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 136 career games, of which he has started 113, Andrews is averaging 9.9 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 137 games, starting 70, and averages 7.9 points and 3.0 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 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Grizzlies in 56 games played.
Up Next
- The winner of the Loyola-Holy Cross Patriot League Championships First Round game will head to Hamilton, New York, for a Thursday, March 2, game at Colgate University.
