Game Information
Opponent	Holy Cross Crusaders
Game Notes	Loyola
Date	Saturday, February 28, 2026
Time	12:00 p.m.
Location	Worcester, Mass. | Hart Center
Tickets	Purchase
Getting There	Directions
Online Media	ESPN+ | Live Stats | International Video Feed

Quick Hits

• The Loyola University Maryland men's basketball team will close its 2025-26 regular-season on Saturday, February 28, when it heads to Worcester, Massachusetts, to play College of the Holy Cross. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 noon.
• With a win and a Lafayette loss, Loyola would be the No 6 seed; if Lafayette wins and Loyola loses, Lafayette is the six, Loyola the seven.
• If Loyola and Lafayette are tied in the standings following Saturday, Loyola will be the higher seed if Lehigh is seeded higher than Colgate. Lafayette will be seeded higher if the opposite happens.
• Josh Loeffler is in his second year as the Greyhounds' head coach after taking the position as Loyola's 22nd all-time head coach in March 2024. Last year, he led the Greyhounds to a five-win improvement over the 2023-24 season.

Series History

• Loyola and Holy Cross will meet for the 31st time in series history when the teams take the floor on Saturday. The game will be the 24th regular-season Patriot League game between the teams.
• Holy Cross holds a 17-13 lead in the previous 28 games after sweeping the season series each of the last two years.
• The Greyhounds broke a four-game skid to the Crusaders in this year's first meeting, taking an 83-73 decision in Baltimore on Sunday, February 15.
• Jordan Stiemke, Emmett Adair and Braeden Speed combined to make four 3-pointers during a 17-4 Loyola run midway through the second half that put the Greyhounds in control of an that game in Reitz Arena.
• A Gabe Warren three for Holy Cross put the Crusaders up eight, 51-43, with 11:59 left in regulation, but Stiemke scored on a hook shot in the paint 18 seconds later.
• He came up with a steal on the defensive end on the ensuing possession and knocked down a transition three to get Loyola within three, 51-48. DeAndre Williams scored for Holy Cross with 10:45 on the clock, but Speed knocked down a three at 10:29 to make it a two-point gap.
• After a Warren basket for the Crusaders, Stiemke knocked down another three at 9:47 to put Loyola in front and Adair converted a step-back jumper at 8:52 for a three-point lead.
• Adair finished the 17-4 stretch with a three at 8:13, and Loyola led by five. 
• Speed led Loyola with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting and 3 of 6 from 3-point range.  
• Adair finished one point behind with 24; Stiemke added 14 that came with four 3-pointers.

Watch The Action

• Saturday's game will stream live on ESPN+.
• All Loyola home games this season will also stream live on ESPN+ and be available internationally on Sidearm.

Last Time Out

• Navy used a decisive first-half run to take control and never let up, defeating Loyola 78-51 on Wednesday night at Reitz Arena.
• Loyola opened the game string and led 11-5 behind early scoring from Emmett Adair and Tyson Commander. Navy quickly answered, using defensive pressure and efficient shooting to flip the momentum. 
• The Midshipmen went on a key 10-0 run midway through the first half that turned a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead and firmly shifted control of the game.
• Austin Benigni sparked the surge with a 3-pointer, and Cam Cole followed with a fast-break triple after a Loyola turnover. Aidan Kehoe added a layup, and Navy's defense forced empty possessions that fueled the run. Jinwoo Kim later capped the stretch with back-to-back baskets as Navy pushed its advantage to 10-plus.
• Navy led 43-25 at halftime after shooting better than 53 percent from the field and nearly 47 percent from 3-point range in the opening half. Benigni scored 13 first-half points, while Kehoe controlled the glass.
• The Midshipmen continued to build their lead in the second half, extending it to as many as 27 points while maintaining defensive intensity. Kim finished with a game-high 25 points, matching Benigni's 25, as Navy shot 54.7 percent for the game and connected on 10 3-pointers. Navy also held a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint.
• Adair led Loyola with 13 points

Back To Speed

• Braeden Speed leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game, a mark that is up more than four points since the start of December over Loyola's last 21 games. He has led the Greyhounds in scoring in nine of the last 18 games, including eight of 17 conference outings.
• The sophomore guard from Arizona had a stretch of five-straight games with 11 points or more (Nov. 6-19) snapped when he finished with five at then-No. 12 Kentucky, a game that started a three-game stretch where he totaled just 20 (six in limited action versus Washington College and nine against Coppin State).
• Since then, Speed has scored in double figures in 19 of 21 outings with seven 20-plus games and 11 with 15 or more mixed in. He dropped his first 30-point game of his career on January 28 with 30 in a win over American.
• He had his first collegiate double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Colgate. The game against the Raiders was the third 20-plus point game of Speed's collegiate career, joining his November 15 game against Stonehill when he had 21 and the December 21 contest at George Mason. Speed logged his second double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds at Lafayette, falling three assist short of a triple-double, and he backed that up with 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists versus Holy Cross.
• During the last 21 outings, Speed has averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds and a team-best 3.8 assists. He has shot 44.7 percent from the field, making 39.4 percent (43 of 109) from 3-point range.
• Overall this year, he is also first on the team in total rebounds (137) and assists (110).
• Speed scored 20 or more in four-straight recent games (at Lehigh, Bucknell, American, at Navy). He was the first Loyola player to do so since Deon Perry did in January-February 2024. 

Playing With Pace

• Loyola ranks first in the Patriot League with in possessions per game in conference games, averaging 67.7 per KenPom's tempo rankings. 

Speed In The League

• Braeden Speed is the Greyhounds' leading scorer in Patriot League games, averaging 17.1 over 17 contests. Getting to the line has been a big part of helping those scoring numbers. He leads the conference in free throws made (80) and is second in free throws attempted (97) during conference games (.825). 

Adair Among Freshmen

• Emmett Adair is second on the Greyhounds in scoring during Patriot League games, averaging 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
• He is one of two Patriot League freshmen – (Colgate's Andrew Alekseyenko) – and 13 freshmen nationally – to average 14-plus points and five or more rebounds per game this year. Overall, he's at 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
• Adair has scored 25 or more points in four games this year, something only 13 other NCAA Division I freshmen have accomplished this season. He has seven games with 20 or more, one of 29 freshmen to do so.

All By Himself

• Emmett Adair is the only Loyola freshman since 2010-2011 to have seven games with 20 or more points (per Stathead).
• In the same time span, he is one of 10 Patriot League freshmen with seven or more 20-plus point games, joining Bucknell's Amon Dörries (8) this season. 

Second Half Sparks

• Through 30 games this year, the Greyhounds' offense has been better during the second half of games, averaging 39.6 points to 33.9 in the first half.
• Loyola has shot .452 from the field after the break, compared with .411 in the first.
• On an individual basis, Braeden Speed has been the Greyhounds player with the biggest jump in the second half. Speed has taken 30 more shots after halftime this season and is averaging 9.4 following the break to 5.7 in the first 20 minutes.

Adair Up There

• Emmett Adair had the first 20-plus point game of his young career against Coppin State making 11 of 17 shots from the field, 3 of 6 from 3-point range, en route to scoring 29 points. He was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week after that game and a 10-point, 7-rebound performance against Washington College.
• Adair had the second 20-plus point game of the season on December 9 at VMI, making 10 of 18 from the field to finish with 21 points.
• He nearly matched his career-high on January 31 at Navy, making 6 of 11 from 3-point range en route to scoring a team-best 28 points. He also grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the game.
• The very next game – February 4 in a double-overtime home win against Lehigh – Adair compiled his first collegiate double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. 
• He put up 26 points with nine boards a week later at Lafayette, and he followed that with 24 points against Holy Cross, earning Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Week honors.
• Adair missed the first five games of Loyola's season with an illness, but he's been a key contributor since making his debut November 19 at Duquesne. The Sydney, Australia, native has averaged 14.2 points, a team-high 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in his 24 games played while averaging 24.8 minutes.
• Adair, who played for the Australian Senior National Team this summer as it went 6-0 to qualify for in FIBA Asia Cup qualifying, has shot 46.9 percent from the field in those games, 57.8 percent from 2-point range.

Stiemke Scoring

• While Emmett Adair (25.0 points per game) and Braeden Speed (19.0) put up the biggest scoring numbers in wins over Lafayette and Holy Cross two weeks ago, Jordan Stiemke averaged 13.5.
• The games, coupled with last week's against Army West Point and Colgate, extended his streak of 11 or more points per game to six, dating back to a 19-point game against Lehigh on February 4. 
• Stiemke started Patriot League play averaging 4.3 points over the first eight conference games, but in the last nine, he has averaged 12.0.
• Community Affair
• Loyola is third in the Patriot League in rebounds per game at 35.5, but the Greyhounds have only one player ranked in the top 10 of league individual rebounding.
• Three Greyhounds – Emmett Adair (5.4), Braeden Speed (4.6) and Jacob Theodosiou (3.9) – average 3.8 or more rebounds per game, and two others – Jordan Stiemke (3.1) and Sebastien Emenalo (3.4) – average more than three per game.

On The Offensive Glass

• Loyola is second in the Patriot League in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 10.7 through 30 outings. 
• Emmett Adair has played in 25 games thus far, but he fourth in the conference with 61 pulls off the offensive glass. 

Better With The Ball

• Loyola's turnover numbers have improved since the start of Patriot League games on December 31.
• The Greyhounds averaged 12.8 a game in 13 non-conference outings, but since then they have averaged only 10.3 in their 17 Patriot League outings.

Helping Trains Run On Time

• Tyson Commander's stats do not pop off the sheet as he's averaging a modest 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game this season, but his contributions to Loyola's efficiency come on the court.
• The senior has started the last 15 games for Loyola, contests in which the Greyhounds' KenPom offensive efficiency is 107.8, more than four points higher than its season average of 103.7. Loyola's defensive number is 109.1, more than 10 points less than the season average of 119.9.

The Kids Are Alright

• Loyola's freshmen trio of Emmett Adair, Carter Berg-McLean and Sebastien Emenalo have seen their combined playing time increase significantly during Patriot League games, and they have produced.
• Adair is averaging 14.9 points in the conference after posting 12.4 pre-League.
• Berg-McLean is second on the team in assists (35) in Patriot League games and has seen his minutes per game rise from 6.9 to 18.3.
• Emenalo has averaged 4.4 rebounds per game in 16.8 minutes of conference action after grabbing 2.0 in 11.4 minutes during non-conference.

At The Next Level

• As a school of less than 4,000 undergraduate students, Loyola University Maryland boasted three former student-athletes on NBA rosters as players last month on opening night. Two members of the men's basketball incoming class of 2019, Santi Aldama (SAHN-tee ALL-dah-muh) and Cam Spencer are on the Memphis Grizzlies' roster, and four-time men's lacrosse All-American Pat Spencer is a member of the Golden State Warriors.
• Aldama was a first-round draft pick in the 2021 NBA Draft after leading the Patriot League in scoring and rebounding in 2020-21, and Cam Spencer led the conference in scoring the following season. He has played in 278 NBA games through February 22 and is averaging 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 43 outings this season after signing a four-year contract during the summer. He has starred for his native Spain, earning TISSOT Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament before averaging 17.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games during the Olympics.
• Cam Spencer, who was a three-year starter for the Greyhounds from 2019-22, and won an NCAA Championship at Connecticut in 2023-24, made his NBA debut on November 20, 2024 for the Grizzlies and is averaging 11.2 points and 5.6 assists in 55 games this season.
• Pat Spencer holds the Loyola men's lacrosse records for career assists and points and was the 2019 NCAA Division I Player of the Year for the Greyhounds. He switched to basketball after graduating from Loyola and has seen action in 86 games over the last three years for Golden State. This year, he's averaging 6.3 points and 3.4 assists in 43 outings. 

Up Next

• Loyola will open the Patriot League Championships on either Tuesday, March 3, or Thursday, March 5.