Defensive Midfield Scores Six In 13-7 Win Over Fairfield

 

BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland defensive midfielders Scott Ratliff and Josh Hawkins combined to score six goals on as many shots, and Pat Laconi added an assist, as the Greyhounds’ defensive midfield was in on almost half of their goals during a 13-7 victory Saturday afternoon over visiting Fairfield University in ECAC Lacrosse League action at Ridley Athletic Complex.

Ratliff, a long-stick midfielder, scored four, and Hawkins added two for Loyola (9-2 overall, 5-0 ECAC), which clinched a bid to the 2013 ECAC Championships that will be played May 2-4 at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. Ratliff also had four caused turnovers and three ground balls, and Hawkins tallied a pair off the ground and caused one Stags turnover.

Fairfield (6-5, 3-2) took an early 1-0 lead as Marshall Johnson scored on a seven-yard shot from the top at 10:32 in the first quarter, but less than two minutes later, an extra-man goal by Loyola would start a 5-0 Greyhounds run.

A Stags push gave Loyola a man advanatage, and Harry Kutner fed Kevin Ryan who hit an over-the-shoulder shot from just in front of the crease to tie the game at 1-1 with 8:44 on the first-quarter clock.

Ratliff then picked up the ground ball on the next faceoff, and he struck with a 12-yard shot from the top of the box to give Loyola its first lead, 2-1, just nine second after Ryan’s goal.

Chris Layne scored the Greyhounds’ third goal, taking a flip from Davis Butts and running left-to-right past his defender to score at 6:27. Justin Ward then scored his first of two-straight at 3:11 with a sidearm shot from just outside the crease.

Ward added another 59 seconds later, converting a bounce shot from a tough angle on the left side after rolling from ‘X’. That goal pushed the Greyhounds’ advantage to 5-1.

Drew Frederick came off a check on the right side and scored on a low-to-low shot with 40 seconds left in the first quarter, but the Greyhounds still had enough time to score one more before the end of the first 15 minutes.

Nikko Pontrello came off a Ratliff screen, and Ratliff rolled to the right side of the crease where Pontrello hit him with 23 ticks showing for Ratliff’s second of the quarter.

Sean O’Sullivan gave Loyola a 7-2 lead at 12:09 in the second quarter when he got free down the right alley, but Fairfield got back within four at 9:40 on a Eric Warden bouncer after rolling the crease on the left side.

Ratliff quickly built the lead back to five for Loyola, flicking a shot into the net off a Ward feed at 9:12.

Later in the quarter, with a 30-second warning in place, Sam Snow came down the right side and hit an overhand bouncer at 3:46, cutting Loyola’s lead to 8-4.

Hawkins, however, pushed the lead back to five before halftime, running a slow clear and backing off a check for a hard shot from seven yards out with 56 seconds remaining before the break.

Jordan Greenfield pulled the Stags back to within four, 9-5, 1:22 into the second half with a low-to-low shot from the right side off a Snow pass, but Ratliff to a Laconi pass in transition and hit a 10-yard step-down shot at 12:44.

Mike Sawyer used a Ward pass at 10:53 to score his first of the game before Warden scored his second with a goal for Fairfield at 10:18.

The score remained 11-6 in Loyola’s favor for several minutes before Sawyer scored in highlight-reel fashion. He was knocked to the turf, and a penalty flag flew on Fairfield, but Sawyer got off a hard shot from the ground and scored at 1:29 to push the lead to six.

Ratliff then caused a Fairfield turnover with under 45 seconds left in the quarter, and Hawkins appeared to settle the play before faking a pass and running down the left alley to score with 18 seconds left in the third.

Fairfield scored the fourth quarter’s lone goal with 1:56 left in the game on a Tristan Sperry shot.

In addition to the multi-point efforts by the defensive midfielders, Ward finished with two goals and two assists, and Sawyer scored twice.

Joe Fletcher matched Ratliff and goalkeeper Jack Runkel for team-high honors with three assists, and defenders Pat Frazier and Reid Acton each caused two turnovers.

The Greyhounds play their final regular-season home game of the season on Saturday, April 13, at 1 o’clock against the University of Denver.

Game Information
Opponent	Fairfield Stags
Date	Saturday, April 6, 2013
Time	2:30 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. | Ridley Athletic Complex

Game Data

• Loyola University Maryland returns to Ridley Athletic Complex for the first time since the second day of March to host Fairfield University in a 2:30 p.m. ECAC Lacrosse League game on Saturday, April 6.
• The game is part of a doubleheader at Ridley. Loyola’s women host Georgetown University in the first game, starting at 12 noon.

Series History

• Loyola and Fairfield will play for the 16th time in series history when the teams meet on Saturday. The Greyhounds hold a 13-2 advantage in the all-time series after winning both meetings last season.
• In last year’s regular-season meeting, the Greyhounds rallied from a two-goal fourth-quarter deficit to score the last four game to defeat Fairfield, 8-6, on April 7, 2012, in the regular-season meeting between the teams. The Stags took a 6-4 lead with 11:59 left in regulation on a John Snellman goal, but Davis Butts assisted a J.P. Dalton goal eight seconds later to start the 4-0 run that led to the win in Connecticut.
• The teams met again on May 4, in the ECAC Championship Game at Denver University, and Loyola used an 8-1 run that spanned three quarters to take a 14-7 decision. Fairfield pulled within a goal when Sam Snow scored with 27 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, but Loyola got a once-in-a-lifetime goal from defender Reid Acton. Loyola goalkeeper Jack Runkel made a save on a Fairfield shot, and he passed the ball to Acton. Acton threw the ball nearly 75 yards, and it went over the stick of Fairfield goalkeeper Charlie Cipriano to make the score 5-3 with one second to go in the first quarter.
• Justin Ward had two goals and three assists in the game, while Mike Sawyer scored three goals and Chris Layne tallied two goals and an assist.

In The Polls

• Loyola remained at No. 5 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll this week while checking in at No. 6 in the USILA Coaches rankings.

Last Time Out

• Loyola held host Ohio State to just 23 shots and did not allow a Buckeyes’ goal for a stretch of 32 minutes, 54 seconds, during a 9-4 ECAC Lacrosse League victory last Saturday in Columbus.
• Ohio State scored with 3:03 left in the second quarter, tying the score at 3-3, but Loyola would score three times before halftime to lead 6-3 at the break.
• The three goals were the first part of a 6-0 run that saw the Greyhounds go ahead, 9-3, off the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter.
• Loyola’s defense held Ohio State to only 10 shots, and the Buckeyes had 10 turnovers, in the final 33 minutes of the game.
• Nikko Pontrello scored three goals, while Chris Layne had a goal and two assists for Loyola. Justin Ward added two assists, and Davis Butts, Zach Herreweyers and Scott Ratliff each scored a goal and assisted on another. Jack Runkel made nine saves in goal for the Greyhounds.

Defensively Speaking

• Loyola has allowed just 15 goals over its last three games, an average of 5.0. In the first two games, at Georgetown and Michigan, the Greyhounds gave up just one goal before halftime, and they then allowed only one after the break at Ohio State
• In the two games, Loyola’s opponents have made just 17.9-percent of their shots, converting on 14-of-78 attempts.
• The Greyhounds have forced 54 turnovers in the games, as Georgetown committed 20, Michigan had 18 and Ohio State, 16. Of those 54 turnovers, Loyola was credited with 34 caused turnovers.
• The 17 caused at Georgetown were the most this season by Loyola and the most by a Greyhounds’ team since they posted 19 in back-to-back games against St. John’s and Massachusetts in March 2009.
• Entering the game against Fairfield, Loyola is fifth in Division I with 10.0 caused turnovers per game. Four players – Scott Ratliff (20th, 1.0), Pat Laconi(37th, 1.6), Joe Fletcher (48th, 1.4) and Reid Acton (95th, 1.11) – are ranked among the nation’s top 100 in caused turnovers per game.

CLASSy Senior Candidate

• Earlier this week, Scott Ratliff was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, an honor given yearly to a NCAA Division I senior who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition
• Ratliff has continued his high production on defense, transition and offense that helped him earn USILA All-America Third Team and ECAC Defensive Player of the Year honors a year ago when he led the team last year in ground balls (88) and caused turnovers (37), was fifth in goals (12) and seventh in assists (7).
• He had one of his stat-sheet filling games against Air Force, scoring a goal and assisting on another while picking up five ground balls and causing three turnovers, and he turned in another with a goal, four ground balls and two caused turnovers while going 4-of-4 on faceoffs against Georgetown. Ratliff came one shy of his career-high with eight ground balls at Michigan.
• His career totals now stand at 23 goals and 13 assists, and his 36 career points are second-most among active long-poles to Bryant’s Mason Poli. Last year, he set the school’s single-season long-pole scoring record with 12 goals and seven assists, eclipsing the previous high of 16 points on 11 goals and five assists set in 1995 by current Loyola assistant coach Matt Dwan.
• Additionally, Ratliff now stands 10th in school Division I history in career ground balls (190) and second in caused turnovers (78). His caused turnovers are 12 shy of tying the school record set in 2008 by P.T. Ricci.

Acton Garners ECAC Award

• Reid Acton earned ECAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors last Monday, marking the fifth week in a row a Loyola player has won at least a share of the weekly laurel.
• Against Ohio State, Acton had primary marking responsibilities for the Buckeyes’ Logan Schuss who entered the game with a team-best 20 goals. Acton held him without a goal while covering him – Schuss’ lone goal came 55 seconds into the game when he was running with the midfield – allowing just five total shots by the reigning ECAC Offensive Player of the Year.
• Acton has now won the award three times in his career after picking up the honor twice last season.
• During the last five weeks, Jack Runkel, Scott Ratliff, Joe Fletcher (twice) and Acton have been named the week’s top defender. Also, during that stretch,Justin Ward and Zach Herreweyers were named Offensive Players of the Week.

Pontrello Keeps Tallying Points

• Nikko Pontrello notched his third hat trick of the season on Saturday at Ohio State, scoring a game-high three against the Buckeyes. He also had three-goal outings against UMBC and Air Force earlier this year.
• In his first season as a starter, Pontrello has scored 13 goals while assisting on the same number for 26 points, second most on the team. As a freshman in 2012, he scored four goals and assisted on six.
• He posted his second six-point game this season March 16 against Air Force, scoring a career-high four goals to go with two assists. He scored in the first quarter, tallied a pair during Loyola’s 4-0 third-quarter run and added his fourth in the final frame. Earlier this year against UMBC, Pontrello posted three goals and three assists for six points against the Retrievers.

Defensive Midfield Production

• Loyola’s defensive midfield had a productive game against Georgetown, finishing the outing with three goals, two assists, 11 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
• Short-sticks Josh Hawkins, who was playing his first game of the 2013 season, and Pat Laconi each scored a goal and assisted on another, while causing three turnovers each. Hawkins had four ground balls and Laconi picked up one. Freshman short-stick Tyler Albrecht also had a ground ball in the game.
• Long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff had Loyola’s first goal of the game, caused two turnovers and picked up four ground balls. Fellow long-stick Thomas Robinson had a ground ball after causing a turnover.
• This season, Laconi is seventh on the team with eight points, and Ratliff is tied for eighth with seven. Laconi has four goals and four assists, while Ratliff has scored six times and assisted on one goal. Hawkins’ two points were his first of the year.

Another Multi-Point Venture For Ward

• With two assists at Ohio State, Justin Ward had his 10th multi-point effort in as many games this season. He has now tallied at least two points in all 10 games this season, and he has three or more in seven those outings..
• In the Georgetown game, he became the 10th player in the program’s Division I history (since 1982) to log 50 or more assists in his career. With 54 career assists, Ward now stands 10th in school Division I history, one shy of Stephen Brundage’s 55 in ninth place.
• Ward put up his second game with seven or more points on March 16 against Air Force, logging seven with two goals and five assists in the win over the Falcons. His five assists tied his career-high, set twice in 2012 against Towson and Fairfield.
• On February 26, against UMBC, as the junior finished with seven goals and three assists for 10 points. His goal and point outputs were career-highs. He became the first player to score at least seven goals in a game since Gavin Prout tallied eight in a 19-11 win at Hobart on April 28, 2001.
• Ward’s 10-point effort was the first 10-point game for a Greyhound since Tim Goettelmann tallied the same amount in a 19-9 win on March 25, 2000, against Fairfield. In that game, Goettelmann scored four goals and had six assists. Later that season, he would score seven goals on May 16 in the NCAA First Round against Notre Dame.
• Through 10 games this year, Ward leads the team with 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points.

Fletcher Turns Up ‘D’

• Joe Fletcher earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 18 after picking up three ground balls and causing a turnover against Air Force. More impressive was the defense Fletcher played on Air Force’s offensive quarterback, preseason All-American Keith Dryer.
• Dryer entered the game with four goals and a team-leading 10 assists, but Fletcher held him without a point.
• This season, Fletcher, who was a Preseason All-America First Team honoree, has 37 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.

Offensive Addition

• Freshman Zach Herreweyers made his first career start on March 16 against Air Force on attack for the Greyhounds, and he made his debut to the opening 10 an impressive one.
• Herreweyers scored his first collegiate goal with 12.3 seconds left in the first quarter, and he finished with a hat trick, tallying goals for Loyola in the third and fourth quarters, as well. He also picked up three ground balls.
• He followed that game with a four-goal outing Wednesday at Georgetown, a hat trick at Michigan and a goal and an assist at Ohio State.
• The freshman from London, Ontario, made his collegiate debut against Duke on March 8. In five games played, he is tied for fourth on the team with 11 goals.
• Herreweyers became the first Loyola freshman to score three times in a game since current senior Patrick Fanshaw scored five goals and assisted on another on March 20, 2010, also against Air Force.

Eighth To 100

• With his goal at 9:25 in the third quarter against UMBC, Mike Sawyer became the eighth player in Loyola men’s lacrosse history to score 100 in his career, the seventh in the program’s Division I history.
• Sawyer joined a list that includes Gary Hanley (151), Pat Lamon (133), Gewas Schindler (120), Tim O’Shea (115), Kevin Beach (114), John Carroll (112) and Chris Colbeck (108).

Layne Keeps Tallying Points

• Chris Layne had his fifth multi-point game of the season against Ohio State, recorda goal and two assists. He has scored at least one point in all 10 of the Greyhounds’ games this year.
• Through 10 games this season, Layne has scored 11 goals and has eight assists.
• Last season, he had a total of five multi-point games while finishing with 11 goals and 14 assists. With his two goals against Delaware, Maryland and UMBC, Layne has more than doubled his multi-goal games during his time at Loyola to five. He also had one as a sophomore in 2010 for North Carolina.

Helmet Stickers

• Loyola players are wearing three stickers on their helmets this season to remember those who have passed away. The stickers are in memory of Adam Pomper, a member of the 2012 team who passed away on June 12, 2012, Mandy O’Sullivan, mother of current players Sean and Ryan O’Sullivan who died in March 2012 from pancreatic cancer, and the 26 victims of the Newtown, Conn., shooting in December 2012 where Loyola put on a youth lacrosse clinic in January.

Well-Represented In MLL Draft

• Five members of the Loyola men’s lacrosse team were selected in the top 26 of the January 11 Major League Lacrosse draft. The Greyhounds tied Virginia for the most draft picks in the selection process.
• Josh Hawkins and Mike Sawyer were both taken in the first round, going fifth and eighth overall to the Hamilton Nationals and Charlotte Hounds, respectively.
• Scott Ratliff was the first pick of the second round, going ninth to the Boston Cannons, and Davis Butts was taken early in the third round, 19th overall to the Denver Outlaws. Joining Hawkins in Hamilton will be Reid Acton, the team’s fourth round pick, 26th overall.
• Sawyer will be joined in Charlotte by former teammate Eric Lusby who was the top waiver pick after the NCAA season ended in early June. After missing the majority of the MLL season with an injury, the NCAA Championships Most Outstanding Player made his MLL debut on July 28 at Long Island and scored a goal. He then tallied three goals  in an August 11 win over Rochester.

Preseason Accolades

• Six Loyola players were named to the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America teams: defender Joe Fletcher and short-stick midfielderJosh Hawkins (first team); attackman Mike Sawyer and long-stick midfielder Scott Ratliff (second); midfielder Davis Butts (third); and, defender Reid Acton(honorable mention).
• All six earned All-America honors last season with Sawyer earned Second Team honors and Ratliff was named to the Third Team. Acton, Butts, Fletcher and Acton earned Honorable Mention along with graduate student Eric Lusby.
• In his first year as a starter, Fletcher was named to the NCAA and ECAC Championships All-Tournament Teams and earned a reputation as one of the top defenders in the nation. In 19 games as a sophomore, Fletcher caused 26 turnovers, second most on the team, and had 41 ground balls.
• Hawkins has continued to be one of the top defensive midfielders in the nation and garnered considerable respect nationally for his play during the NCAA Championships. He earned NCAA All-Tournament honors and helped the Greyhounds limit Notre Dame and Maryland to a combined eight goals on Championships weekend. In addition to his six goals and two assists in 15 games last year, Hawkins was second on the team with 63 ground balls.
• Sawyer was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player last season when he scored 52 goals and assisted on 10 more and was named the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player. During the regular-season, he led the ECAC in goals and goals per game while earning All-ECAC First Team honors. He became the second player to score 50 or more goals in a season and was joined by a third on last year’s team.
• Ratliff continued to be one of the top long-stick midfielders in the nation and set a Loyola scoring record for the position last year. He finished with 12 goals and seven assists, exceeding current Loyola Assistant Coach Matt Dwan’s previous record for a long-stick midfielder set in 1995. In addition to his scoring, he tallied 88 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers while earning ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, ECAC Championships Most Valuable Player, NCAA All-Tournament Team and team co-defenisve player of the year honors.
• Butts was a first-line midfielder for the Greyhounds for the second year in a row. He excelled as a dodger and finisher and ranked fourth on the team in points (35) and third in goals scored (21). A versatile player, Butts also saw plenty of action on the wings of faceoffs and in the defensive midfield where he picked up 40 ground balls.
• Acton will enter 2013 having started on the Greyhounds’ defense each of the last three years. He finished the 2012 season with 44 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers, while helping Loyola record a 7.21 goals allowed per game average, the fifth-best mark in Division I. The Greyhounds set a pair of defensive records during Championship Weekend, holding Notre Dame and Maryland to a combined eight goals in the two games and allowing the Terrapins just three in the title match.

Toomey Receives Morris Touchstone Award

• Loyola Head Coach Charley Toomey was named the ECAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his seven-year career, and in December, he received the coaches association’s Morris Touchstone Award as the national coach of the year.
• The Greyhounds became the second team in USILA Coaches Poll history to start a season unranked and ascend to the No. 1 spot in the rankings. The only other team was Duke in 2007 – a year after the Blue Devils had their season suspended in March – which accomplished the feat after being unranked in the first poll, moving to second in the next version and first in the third. Duke was knocked from its perch as No. 1 that season when it lost to the Greyhounds at the First Four in San Diego.
• The win over Georgetown this was the 70th victory of his coaching career, becoming the second coach in Loyola history to win 70 or more, joining – Dave Cottle (181-70, 1983-2001).

Big Runs

• Last season, runs of three-plus goals were critical in the Greyhounds success, as they had runs of 3-0 or better in all 19 games. In all, Loyola scored three or more in a row on 37 occasions last year.
• The Greyhounds have opened the 2013 season in similar fashion as they scored three-straight in the second quarter to take a 4-2 lead against Delaware after trailing, 2-1. They then had two runs of 3-0 or better at Towson.
• Against UMBC, Loyola had a 3-0 first-half run before putting together a 10-0 stretch in the third and fourth quarters. The Greyhounds then had a 4-0 run that spanned both halves to help beat Bellarmine, and they runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to beat Air Force.
• In the Georgetown game, Loyola had its longest run of the year, scoring eight straight.
• At Ohio State, the Greyhounds went on a 6-0 run that spanned the final three quarters to take control of the game.

Second-Half Success

• Last season, the Greyhounds outscored opponents 66-22 in the third quarters of games, and 123-63 overall in the second half (including overtime). The second-half scoring continued a trend from 2011 when Loyola outscored opponents, 69-52, after halftime (including two overtime goals), and 77-56.
• This year, Loyola is outscoring opponents 39-18 in the third quarter and 60-42 overall after halftime.

Fairfield, Conn.- Visiting UMBC outshot No. 13 Fairfield, 41-40, but Stag goalkeeper Jack Murphy made 17 saves and the Retrievers fell, 14-9 at Alumni Field.

UMBC junior midfielders Conor Finch (Westminster, Md./Boys’ Latin) and Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St. Paul’s) paced the visitors in the scoring column. Finch amassed a career-best four-point day, with three goals and an assist, while Linkous recorded three goals.

Retriever junior face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) won 16 of the game’s 27 draws and recorded a season-best eight ground balls.

UMBC fell behind 3-0 early in the contest, but goals by junior midfielder David Campbell (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park), Linkous and sophomore Ty Kashur (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson/CCBC-Essex) in a span of 2:30 got the Retrievers even at 3-3 with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter.

The Retriever nearly took the lead ,but a shot by freshman midfielder Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School) hit the post with 30 seconds remaining in the quarter and Fairfield corralled the ground ball. Fairfield cleared and the Stags’ Tristan Sperry scored with just four seconds remaining in the quarter to give the hosts a 4-3 edge after 15 minutes.

Fairfield carried that momentum into the second quarter, as they held UMBC to just five shots and outscored the Retrievers, 4-0.

FU led, 8-3 at the half and extended the scoring run to 6-0 as Jordan Greenfield scored his third goal of the game 90 seconds into the third quarter. UMBC tried a get a rally going, as Linkous scored on the Retrievers’ lone man-up chance of the day on a feed from senior attackman Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Wading River) and Finch netted an unassisted tally with 5:13 to play and the third.

But the comeback was short-lived, as the hosts started a 5-1 surge just 1:24 after Finch’s goal and were in control at 14-6 with 11:30 remaining in the contest .

Finch scored twice and freshman attackman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary’s) added a goal in the final 10:48 to finalize the scoring on the day.

Murphy, the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week for the past two weeks, made 10 of his 17 stops in the second half. UMBC senior attackmen Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) and Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) each managed six shots, but could not dent the net.

UMBC senior goalkeeper Adam Cohen (Arnold, Md./Severn) made all eight of his saves in the middle two quarters of play.

FU’s Jordan Greenfield led all scorers with four goals and six total points in the game.

UMBC (1-3) meets No. 1 Maryland (4-0) on Wed., March 6 at Byrd Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPNU and the opening face is set for just after 5:00 p.m.

Game Data

Loyola University Maryland visits Bridgeport, Conn., for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Monday, January 21, 2013.

The Greyhounds will tip-off against Fairfield University at 7 o’clock at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

 

Jesuit Basketball Spotlight

The game against Fairfield is the third of six games the Greyhounds play this season as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight. The team’s two meetings with Saint Peter’s were also JBS games.

As one of 28 Jesuit Catholic universities around the nation, Loyola is a proud participant in the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight again this season.

 

Series History

Loyola and Fairfield will meet for the 55th time on the hardwood Monday night with the Stags entering the game with a 36-18 advantage in the previous meetings.

The Greyhounds won this season’s first meeting between the teams, rallying from a late second-half deficit to force overtime. Loyola held Fairfield scoreless for the final 4:47 of regulation and the first 1:39 of the extra period.

Fairfield led 47-41 with 4:47 on the second-half clock, but the Stags would not score again in regulation as Loyola went on an 8-0 run that spanned into overtime where Jordan Latham scored the first basket. Although the Stags tied the game after Latham’s bucket, Dylon Cormier put Loyola in front for good at 2:49.

The Greyhounds outrebounded Fairfield, 13-2, in the final 9:47 of the game, and the Stags did not have a board in the final 4:47 of regulation.

Neither team led by more than six in the game.

Erik Etherly led Loyola with 20 points, while Dylon Cormier had 19.

The teams split their regular-season meetings last year, each winning on the other’s home court, but Loyola won the rubber match, 48-44, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., in the MAAC Championship game.

 

Last Time Out

Four Loyola players scored in double figures, and the Greyhounds logged season-highs in field-goal percentage and assists on Thursday night during a 72-58 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win over Marist in Reitz Arena.

Dylon Cormier made all but one of his eight shots, including two 3-pointers, and he added a career-high tying six assists to his game-best 19 points. Julius Brooks also tied his career-high with 12 points, while Erik Etherly scored 14 and Anthony Winbush added 10.

Loyola logged 19 assists in the game, led by Cormier’s six. R.J. Williams had four in his season-debut, and Robert Olson tallied the same number.

Marist cut Loyola’s one-time eight-point lead to four, 20-16, with just over 10 minutest to go in the first half, but six Greyhound points in a row put Loyola up 10, and the Red Foxes would not be closer than six the rest of the way.

 

Shooting Back On Track Thursday

Loyola had its two lowest field-goal outputs in its last two games prior to playing Marist on Thursday night when it made 19 on January 11 against Fairfield and the same number two days later at Rider.

The Greyhounds, however, rewrote the story against the Red Foxes, logging a season-high 29 baskets and a 60.4-percent effort from the field.

 

In Large Part Because Of Assists

The Greyhounds’ good shooting performance against Marist could be credited in large part to a season-best 19 assists. With 29 field goals, Loyola had assists on 65.5-percent of its made shots.

Dylon Cormier tied his career-high with six assists, marking the second time in five games the junior guard has hit that total (also January 4 against Rider).

R.J. Williams and Robert Olson also had four assists, and Erik Etherly passed out three.

 

R.J. Williams Returns To Court

Sophomore guard R.J. Williams made his 2012-2013 debut on Thursday night against Marist and played 27 minutes. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, one in each half, and finished with six points and four assists. He also had a steal and blocked the second shot of his career.

All four of Williams’ assists were to post players in the paint.

 

Cormier Paces Shooting

Dylon Cormier made all but one of his eight shot attempts against Marist and finished with a game-high 19 points. He connected on both of his 3-point attempts, helping Loyola made 29-of-48 from the field and 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc.

 

Brooks Also With Career-High

Julius Brooks tied his career-high with 12 points against Marist, matching the total he scored on December 15 in a win over Mount St. Mary’s.

Brooks also made a career-best six field goals on just eight attempts. Three of his baskets came on dunks. He also led Loyola with five rebounds.

 

Scoring In The 70s

Loyola scored 72 points against Marist, marking the fifth time this season and sixth time the team has scored 70 or more points. The Greyhounds are undefeated in those six games.

Dating to the start of the 2011-2012 season, Loyola is 16-1 when scoring 70 or more points, the lone loss coming in an 83-79 defeat to Rider on February 24, 2012.

 

Holding Opponents Under 60

The Greyhounds limited Marist to 58 points, the 10th time this season they have held an opponent to 59 or fewer on the scoreboard. Loyola has won all 10 of those games.

Including the 2011-2012 season, Loyola has held opponents to 59 or fewer 21 times, all victories.

Loyola leads the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season in scoring defense, allowing an average of 60.9 points per game. Last season, the Greyhounds allowed an average of 64.2 points per game.

 

Trimmed Minutes

With the return of R.J. Williams to the rotation, no Loyola player was on the floor for more than 32 minutes against Marist, the first time this season that has happened in a game.

 

Closing In On 1,000 Points

Erik Ethelry and Dylon Cormier are both within 15 points of 1,000 in their Loyola careers. Etherly (991) leads need nine points to reach 1,000, while Cormier (986) is 14 short of the milestone.

Ethelry crossed the 1,000-point threshold for his collegiate career against Marist. Including the 12 points he scored as a freshman at Northeastern University, Etherly now has 1,003 as a collegian.

Earlier this season, Robert Olson scored his 1,000th career point against Saint Peter’s (January 6).

Should Cormier and Etherly reach 1,000 points, it would be the first time in program history the Greyhounds would have three active 1,000-point scorers.

 

Olson Sets Career-Highs

Robert Olson led all scorers on Sunday afternoon at Rider, setting a career-high in scoring for the second time in a month. He finished with 25, eclipsing his previous best of 22 against Mount St. Mary’s on December 15, 2012.

Olson also set career-highs at Rider in field goals made (10), field goals attempted (22) and 3-pointers attempted (13).

Olson, who became the 32nd player in Loyola history to score his 1,000th point when he reached the mark in the second half against Saint Peter’s on Sunday, January 6, scored 14 points in the first half against Rider. He also had two steals in the game.

 

Brooks’ Board Work

Julius Brooks led Loyola and tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds at Rider, matching his season-high for 2012-2013 (also vs. Saint Peter’s, December 8). He then pulled down five to lead the team against Marist.

It was the ninth time this season that Brooks has logged four or more rebounds, and the Greyhounds are now 8-1 in those contests.

 

Late Defense

Loyola did not allow Fairfield to score for the final 4:47 of regulation and 6:36 overall as the Stags were 0-of-6 during the timeframe.

Overall, the Stags made just seven field goals in the second half (26.9-percent), and Fairfield did not shoot a free throw during the period after going to the line 14 times before the break.

 

Rebounding On The Boards

At the under-4 timeout in the second half, Fairfield had a 33-26 advantage on the boards, but the Greyhounds rebounded to win the battle on the glass, 39-35.

Fairfield managed just two rebounds, while Loyola had 13 during the final nine minutes of the game, including overtime.

The Stags did not have a single rebound in the last 4:47 of regulation, and one of the overtime rebounds came when the ball deflected off a Loyola player out of bounds. The second rebound was an offensive board for the Stags with just five seconds to go in regulation and Loyola up five.

The Greyhounds moved to 7-2 this season when outrebounding its opponents.

This season, the Greyhounds are leading the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in rebounds (37.2) and rebounding margin (+3.6).

Seven Greyhounds are averaging more than three rebounds per game.

 

Doing What He Does, A Little Of Everything

Anthony Winbush has continued to contribute in just about every way possible, something he has done throughout the year. Versus Fairfield, Winbush led Loyola with nine rebounds and five assists, while contributing a pair of steals and a blocked shot.

Winbush is leading the team this season in rebounds per game (7.0), total rebounds (105) and assists per game (2.6). No other player in the MAAC is leading his team in both categories. He is also fourth on the team with a 6.4 points per game average.

 

Cormier Getting To The Line

Through 19 games this season, Dylon Cormier has shot 141 free throws, an average of 7.4 per game.

Cormier has also made 74.5-percent of his free throws this season (105 total), good for 31.7-percent of his 331 points this year.

Last season, Cormier went to the free-throw line a total of 160 times, making 108.

In his two-plus seasons at Loyola, Cormier has made 266-of-380 (70-percent) from the line, totals that are both 16th in school history.

 

Guards To The Boards

Robert Olson and Dylon Cormier, Loyola’s starting guards, combined for 15 rebounds against Fairfield. Olson grabbed a career-high eight – he had recorded seven on seven occasions – and Cormier was two off his season and career-high with seven.

This season, Cormier is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game, good for 16th in the MAAC, while Olson is just behind with 4.6 per game.

Olson has pulled down five or more boards 10 times this year, and Cormier has reached or exceeded that total nine times.

 

Congratulations Graduate

Erik Etherly became the most recent Loyola men’s basketball player to graduate, completing his undergraduate requirements in December for a bachelor of arts in communications with an emphasis in marketing and public relations. He joins Anthony Winbush – who graduated in May 2012 – as a graduate student on the Loyola roster this season. He will start his masters in education leadership this month.

 

Olson Gets To 1,000

Robert Olson became the 32nd player in Loyola men’s basketball history to reach 1,000 points in his career against Saint Peter’s on January 6. He entered the game needing 10 points to reach the plateau, and after scoring eight in the first half, he finished a fast break 2:29 into the second with a layup.

Entering the game against Rider, he has 1,019 points, 498 of which have come on 3-pointers and 165 on free throws.

 

Fourth To 100 Blocks

Erik Etherly matched his career-high with five blocked shots against Saint Peter’s, and in the process he became the fourth player in program history to swat 100 shots.

He joins Brian Carroll (1997-2001, 213 blocks), Shane Walker (2009-2012, 135) and George Sereikas (1989-1993, 117) in the 100-block club.

 

Back-To-Back 20-Point Games

Loyola has seen players score 20 or more in back-to-back games twice over the course of the last three games. Dylon Cormier scored 25 at Memphis and 21 versus Rider, while Erik Etherly had 21 in the Rider game and 24 against Saint Peter’s.

It was the third time in Cormier’s career that he has scored 20 or more in back-to-back games after he scored 20 against both Coppin State (November 14) and UMBC (November 17) and 22 and 26 at Siena (December 3) and at George Washington (December 7), respectively, all during the 2011-2012 season.

For Etherly, it was the second time over his tenure at Loyola that he’s scored 20 or more in consecutive appearances. He also did so with 21 against both Niagara and Siena in the 2012 MAAC Quarterfinals and Semifinals, respectively, en route to being named the MAAC Championships Most Outstanding Player.

 

Winning Combinations

Loyola is now 8-0 when it shoots 45-percent or better in a game, and Loyola is now 9-0 when scoring 65 or more points this season. The Greyhounds recently held both Saint Peter’s, Fairfield and Marist to 58 points, marking the marking the 10th time – all wins – that they have held an opponent short of 60.

 

26th To 400

Anthony Winbush collected a game-high nine rebounds against Mount St. Mary’s, and his final made him the 26th player in Loyola men’s basketball history to grab 400 in his career.

The graduate student, who received a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending injury after eight games in 2010-2011, also has scored 455 points in his career.

This season, he leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game, and he is 21st all-time at Loyola with 435 career rebounds.

 

Telling Factors

Three stats stand out in the Greyhounds six losses this season. Loyola is now 2-6 when its opponents register a better shooting percentage, and 2-6 when its foes shoot more free throws in a game. Also, Loyola has averaged just 7.0 assists in the five losses.

In the games they have lost, the Greyhounds have shot 36.2-percent from the field, while their opponents hit at a 46.4-percent clip.

Opponents are shooting eight more free throws (26.3-18.3) per game in the six losses, as well.

 

Sharing The Ball

Loyola is now 8-0 this season when it has 12 or more assists. Conversely, the Greyhounds are averaging just 7-0 assists in six losses this year and 13.1 in 13 wins.

 

Cormier’s Career-High

Dylon Cormier had a career-high scoring night at Coppin State, tallying 27 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He made 11-of-12 from the line, 5-of-6 in the final five minutes of the game.

Cormier eclipsed his previous career-best of 26 set last season in a win at George Washington.

The junior guard also was one off his career-high in rebounds, grabbing eight boards for the second-straight game, and he dished out four assists in a career-high 39 minutes of action.

 

Doubling Up

Anthony Winbush notched the first double-double of his career on November 28 at Coppin State, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

His 12 rebounds represented the 12th time in his tenure at Loyola that he has posted 10 or more rebounds, and it was the fourth time he has scored 10 or more points.

He also set a career-high in rebounds, eclipsing the 11 he posted in his seventh career game on November 29, 2008, at Vermont. Winbush also set a career-high in minutes played (37) and matched his previous best in free throws made (five) and attempted (six).

 

Late Game Heroics

Loyola’s games against Albany and Rhode Island, both wins, came down to the last four seconds of regulation (and then some).

On November 18, Albany tied the game with 3.1 ticks on the clock, Loyola Head Coach Jimmy Patsos set up an inbound play in a timeout. Graduate student Anthony Winbush threw a baseball pass 80 feet to Dylon Cormier  who was inside the opposite foul line. Cormier caught the pass, laid it in with his right hand and was fouled in the process by Albany’s D.J. Evans with 1.5 seconds left.

Cormier made the free throw to provide the final margin, and Albany’s inbound pass went off the hands of Evans and out-of-bounds to secure the win.

Robert Olson then sank a 3-pointer with 3.7 on the clock at Rhode Island to force overtime where the Greyhounds would win by four.

 

MAAC Preseason Poll & Player of the Year

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference unveiled its preseason coaches’ poll and the league’s Preseason Player of the Year on Friday night in a live Preseason Awards Show on ESPN3. Loyola was named the team to beat in 2012-2013, and Erik Etherly was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches. (Complete poll and All-MAAC teams at left).

This is the first time Loyola has been selected No. 1 in the MAAC preseason poll in 24 years in the league, nor had a Greyhound player been named Preseason Player of the Year prior to Etherly.

Three Loyola players were named to the various Preseason All-MAAC teams as voted on by the coaches of the league.

Erik Etherly earned an All-MAAC First Team nod, while Dylon Cormier and Robert Olson were named to the Second Team.

 

Classy Senior

Senior guard Robert Olson was named one of 30 candidates for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award last week. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Olson was the Greyhounds’ third-leading scorer last season with 11.1 points per game and enters this season Loyola ranked fourth at Loyola in 3-point percentage (138-of-336, .4107) sixth in career 3-pointers made (138) and eighth in 3-pointers attempted (336). Last season, Olson was one of four Loyola players to earn All-MAAC honors, picking up Third Team mention and later All-Tournament honors.

 

High Marks

The Loyola men’s basketball team scored the highest amongst squads in the State of Maryland in the most recent NCAA Graduation Success Rate report. The Greyhounds checked in with a 91-percent GSR, tops among the state’s nine Division I schools, for players who entered the school between 2002-2005.

 

Turnaround…Check

Loyola completed the turnaround from finishing the 2003-2004 season with the lowest RPI in NCAA Division I basketball. The Greyhounds finished that season with a 1-27 record the season before Jimmy Patsos took over as head coach.

Since then, Loyola has gone 131-128 and culminated the turnaround by winning a school Division I record 24 games  in 2011-2012.

Patsos is one of only three coaches at the Division I level in the last 20 years to take over a program that had won zero or one game the year prior to then win 100 games at the school. He joins Steve Cleveland (BYU) and Pat Douglass (UC-Irvine) as the others.

 

Patsos Named Coach & Man Of The Year

Jimmy Patsos became the first Loyola coach to earn The Rock/Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors by a vote of his peers in the league.

Patsos guided the Greyhounds to a school Division I high 24 wins and a program MAAC record 13 victories. He earned his 100th career coaching victory in November 2012 and led the Greyhounds to the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championships.

Later in March, Patsos was named the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award for his work on and off the court, an honor presented by CollegeInsider.com.

 

Century Mark

Head Coach Jimmy Patsos became the third coach in Loyola history to win 100 games when the Greyhounds defeated UMBC, 73-63, on the road last season. Patsos, who is now in his ninth season, took over a team that finished 1-27 during the 2002-2003 season. He won his 100th game in his 215th career game.

Last season, Patsos moved into third-place all time at Loyola in victories, trailing only Lefty Reitz (349 wins, 1937-44, 1945-61) and Nap Doherty (165, 1961-74).

Loyola All-Time Coaching Wins List
1.	349	Lefty Reitz	1937-1944, 1945-1961
2.	165	Nap Doherty	1961-1974
3.	135	Jimmy Patsos	2004-present
4.	85	Mark Amatucci	1982-1989
5.	72	Gary Dicovitsky	1976-1981

 

 

Baltimore Bred And More From Nearby

Since taking over as head coach in 2004, Jimmy Patsos has put an emphasis on recruiting locally, and it has never shown as much as on this year’s roster. Four players – junior guard Dylon Cormier (Cardinal Gibbons), junior forward Jordan Latham (City) and sophomore guard R.J. Williams and freshman forward Josh Forney (St. Frances) are products of schools within the city limits.

Six more players played in high school within 50 miles of Loyola, as the crow flies (thanks daftlogic.com): Jarred Jones, John Carroll, 20.5; Tyler Hubbard, Montrose Christian, 32.6 miles; Robert Olson, Georgetown Prep, 33.9; Anthony Winbush, T.C. Williams, 43.7; and Erik Etherly, Annandale, 47.9.

 

What’s Next

Loyola makes another Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference road trip on Friday, January 25, to play at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y. The game is slated to start at 7 o’clock, and it will be broadcast nationwide on ESPNU.

Opponent	Fairfield Stags
Date	Friday, January 11, 2013
Time	7:00 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. | Reitz Arena
TV	ESPNU

Game Data

Loyola University Maryland hosts the final contest of a three-game homestand on Friday, January 11, when Fairfield University comes to Reitz Arena for a 7 o’clock tip-off.

The three-game homestand is Loyola’s longest of the season. The Greyhounds will not have back-to-back home contests the rest of the year.

 

On The Tube

The Greyhounds and Stags will play in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU. The game is the first of three over the next five weeks that Loyola will play on the network.

Doug Sherman will call the play-by-play, and Tim McCormick will handle color analysis duties.

 

Jesuit Basketball Spotlight

The game against Fairfield is the third of six games the Greyhounds play this season as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight. The team’s two meetings with Saint Peter’s were also JBS games.

As one of 28 Jesuit Catholic universities around the nation, Loyola is a proud participant in the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight again this season.

 

Follow The Action

The audio can be heard on LoyolaGreyhounds.com.

 

Series History

Loyola and Fairfield will meet for the 54th time on the hardwood Friday night with the Stags entering the game with a 36-17 advantage in the previous meetings.

The teams split their regular-season meetings last year, each winning on the other’s home court, but Loyola won the rubber match, 48-44, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., in the MAAC Championship game.

Erik Etherly averaged 14.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game against the Stags, while Robert Olson tallied a 13.0 points per game average in the three games last season.

Two of the games were closely contested contests with Loyola defeating Fairfield, 66-63, in Bridgeport, Conn., on January 13, 2012, and later in the Championship Game. The Stags’ victory in Reitz Arena, however, was not as close with Fairfield coming out on top, 68-51.

In Loyola’s two wins over the Stags, the Greyhounds shot better from the field (.402-.358) and had a significant advantage in 3-point field goal percentage (.455-.292).

 

Last Time Out

Three Greyhounds scored 17 or more points, and Loyola used a pair of lengthy runs to defeat Saint Peter’s, 74-58, on Sunday afternoon in Reitz Arena. Erik Etherly finished with 24 points, while Dylon Cormier and Robert Olson tallied 18 and 17 points, respectively.

The Peacocks never led in the game, but they cut Loyola’s early 11-point advantage to just two, 17-15, with 10:27 to play in the first half. Cormier, however, scored the next five points, sparking a 15-0 run that was capped by a couple of Anthony Winbush free throws at 3:27.

Loyola was up 13 at halftime and led by 19, 55-36, with 11:50 to play on an Etherly layup. Saint Peter’s, however, got back within 11, 62-51 with just under five minutes to play.

 

Olson Gets To 1,000

Robert Olson became the 32nd player in Loyola men’s basketball history to reach 1,000 points in his career last Sunday against Saint Peter’s. He entered the game needing 10 points to reach the plateau, and after scoring eight in the first half, he finished a fast break 2:29 into the second with a layup.

Entering the game against Fairfield, he has 1,007 points, 498 of which have come on 3-pointers and 157 on free throws.

 

Olson’s 3-Pointers

With 166 career 3-pointers, Olson is fourth all-time at Loyola in made baskets from behind the arc. He will tie Brett Harvey (2006-2010) for third with eight more threes.

Nearly half of his field goals made (166-of-342, .48.5-percent of made baskets) have been 3-pointers.

Olson is also fourth at Loyola in 3-pointers attempted (433).

 

Fourth To 100 Blocks

Erik Etherly matched his career-high with five blocked shots against Saint Peter’s, and in the process he became the fourth player in program history to swat 100 shots.

He joins Brian Carroll (1997-2001, 213 blocks), Shane Walker (2009-2012, 135) and George Sereikas (1989-1993, 117) in the 100-block club.

 

Three Over 15

Loyola had three players score 15 or more points against Saint Peter’s, marking the second time this season the Greyhounds have accomplished the feat. Erik Etherly led all players with 24 points, while Dylon Cormier and Robert Olson had 18 and 17, respectively

The first time it happened, Etherly had 22 against UMBC, while Cormier and Tyler Hubbard each tallied 17.

 

Cormier Keeps Going

Dylon Cormier scored in double figures for the 10th straight game and 15th time in 16 games this season for the Greyhounds, logging 18 against Saint Peter’s.

The junior guard is tops on the team with 17.6 points per game, scoring 15 or more points in 12-of-16 games.

Cormier also leads the Greyhounds in assists (41, 2.6 per game) and steals (31, 1.9) and is third on the team in rebounds per game (4.8). His 1.5:1 assist:turnover ratio is also best on the squad.

 

Back-To-Back 20-Point Games

Loyola has seen players score 20 or more in back-to-back games twice over the course of the last three games. Dylon Cormier scored 25 at Memphis and 21 versus Rider, while Erik Etherly had 21 in the Rider game and 24 against Saint Peter’s.

It was the third time in Cormier’s career that he has scored 20 or more in back-to-back games after he scored 20 against both Coppin State (November 14) and UMBC (November 17) and 22 and 26 at Siena (December 3) and at George Washington (December 7), respectively, all during the 2011-2012 season.

For Etherly, it was the second time over his tenure at Loyola that he’s scored 20 or more in consecutive appearances. He also did so with 21 against both Niagara and Siena in the 2012 MAAC Quarterfinals and Semifinals, respectively, en route to being named the MAAC Championships Most Outstanding Player.

 

Box Score Filler

Anthony Winbush continued his solid all-around game, leading the Greyhounds in both assists and rebounds versus Saint Peter’s. He scored eight points and logged team-highs of eight rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes of action.

The graduate student has topped the team in rebounds seven times this season and assisted on five occasions.

In 13 game, Winbush has averaged 7.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32.8 minutes of action.

 

Winning Combinations

Statistically, several things went the Greyhounds’ way against Rider and Saint Peter’s that have been good signs this season.

Loyola is now 7-0 when it shoots 45-percent or better in a game. After scoring 71  and 74 points, Loyola is now 8-0 when scoring 65 or more points this season. The Greyhounds also held Saint Peter’s to 58 points, marking the marking the eighth time – all wins – that they have held an opponent short of 60.

 

When Winbush Scores 10+

Anthony Winbush scored 10 points for the Greyhounds against Rider, the fourth time this season he has tallied double figures in points. Loyola has won all four of those games.

The Greyhounds have won each of the last six games Winbush has scored 10 or more, dating back to a 59-50 loss against Iona on January 11, 2010. Over his career, he has scored in double figures 16 times, and the Greyhounds are 13-3 in those games.

 

Offensive Board Work

A high emphasis was placed on offensive rebounds in the Greyhounds’ practice and shootaround preceding the game at Memphis, and the team responded.

Loyola had a season-high 23 offensive rebounds, 16 in the first half, against Memphis. Dylon Cormier led the team with five offensive rebounds, and Erik Ethelry had four.

The Greyhounds’ 23 offensive boards eclipsed their previous season-high of 21 set on November 23 at Rhode Island.

Loyola pulled down offensive rebounds at a 54.7-percent clip against the Tigers, garnering four more on the offensive glass than Memphis did on the defensive boards (19).

The 23 offensive rebounds are the most by a Loyola team since it had 25 in a December 1, 2011, win over Marist.

 

Overall Rebounding

Loyola outrebounded the Tigers, 42-29, marking just the fourth time in 12 games that Memphis had been outdone on the boards this season.

The 13 rebound differential was the greatest Memphis has encountered this season, as the three previous times it had been outrebounded were by one (Samford, Lipscomb) and two (Virginia Commonwealth). Entering the game, Memphis had been outrebounding opponents by 6.2 per game.

This season, the Greyhounds are leading the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in rebounds (37.1) and rebounding margin (+3.6).

Seven Greyhounds are averaging more than three rebounds per game.

 

26th To 400

Anthony Winbush collected a game-high nine rebounds against Mount St. Mary’s, and his final made him the 26th player in Loyola men’s basketball history to grab 400 in his career.

The graduate student, who received a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending injury after eight games in 2010-2011, also has scored 455 points in his career.

This season, he leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game, and with 11 more rebounds, he will move into 25th all-time at Loyola.

 

Telling Factors

Three stats stand out in the Greyhounds five losses this season. Loyola is now 1-5 when its opponents register a better shooting percentage, and 2-5 when its foes shoot more free throws in a game. Also, Loyola has averaged just 6.8 assists in the five losses.

In the games they have lost, the Greyhounds have shot 36.7-percent from the field, while their opponents hit at a 47.2-percent clip.

Opponents are shooting nearly nine more free throws (26.4-17.6) per game in the five losses, as well.

 

Sharing The Ball

Loyola is now 8-0 this season when it has 12 or more assists. Conversely, the Greyhounds are averaging just 6.8 assists in five losses this year and 12.9 in nine wins.

 

Brooks With A Career-High

Julius Brooks scored 10 points in the second half to lead the Greyhounds after the break against Mount St. Mary’s, a total that would have equaled his career-best. He also had a bucket in the first half, and with his career-high five field goals, the senior post player finished with a career-best 12.

It marked the second time in his career that Brooks has scored 10 or more and the first since he did it against Niagara in his freshman season of 2009-2010.

Brooks has averaged 8.3 points in the Greyhounds’ last three games after scoring six against Niagara on December 5 and seven versus Saint Peter’s on December 8.

 

Etherly Returns To Action

Erik Etherly made his first appearance for Loyola since November 23 against Mount St. Mary’s after recuperating from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for five games, a span in which Loyola won three.

The Preseason MAAC Player of the Year came off the bench against Mount St. Mary’s, entering the game in the second minute of play, and he finished with 16 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of action.

He made 6-of-11 shots, plus 4-of-6 from the line, and also dished out a pair of assists.

The Greyhounds averaged 7.5 points per game fewer (68.3-60.8) in the five games without Etherly, but they also allowed four fewer points (57.2-61.2) in the same span.

Loyola averaged more rebounds (39.8-35.2) during Etherly’s absence, but the team’s field-goal percentage has slipped form .440 to .380 in the respective stretches.

During Etherly’s absence, Anthony Winbush raised his scoring average from 6.7 points to 9.2 points, and the graduate student led the team in rebounds (7.2 per game in those five).

 

On The Defensive

Loyola held Mount St. Mary’s to just 24.1-percent (7-of-29) from the field and 18 total points in the first half,  both season-lows for a Greyhounds’ opponent.

The Greyhounds also limited The Mount to 23.5-percent (8-of-34) from 3-point range after the Mountaineers entered the game leading NCAA Division I in percentage of points scored from behind the arc with more than 43-perecnt.

Through 12 games, Loyola is tops in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 59.2 points per game. The Greyhounds have held more than half their opponents (7-of-12) this year to fewer than 60 points.

Loyola is also tops in the league in field-goal percentage defense, limiting the opposition to 39.9-percent from the field.

The Greyhounds are also tops in the MAAC in blocked shots (5.2 per game)., Jordan Latham is second individually with 1.4 blocked shots per game.

 

When Olson Scores 20+

Loyola improved to 5-1 in games over the last three-plus years when Robert Olson scores 20 or more points. Just once has the guard reached the 20-point plateau in a loss, a January 2012 setback at Iona.

 

Winbush Goes The Distance (Almost)

Anthony Winbush played all but 21 seconds of the win over Saint Peter’s on December 8, logging a career-high in minutes played (he was credited with 40).

He finished one off his career-high in points, as he led the Greyhounds with 16 on 5-of-8 from the floor. He made both of his 3-point attempts and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

The graduate student also tied Julius Brooks for game-high honors with eight rebounds, seven coming on the defensive glass.

Since missing the first three games of the season, Winbush is fourth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.8). He also leads the team in assists per game (2.63) this season and is second in steals per game (1.25).

 

Latham Breaks Out

Jordan Latham took little time on December 1 to set a career-high in scoring, tallying his 10th point of the game with 9:30 to play in the first half against Florida Gulf Coast. He finished with a game-high 17 points to easily outdistance his previous high of nine set just a week prior at Rhode Island.

Latham made 7-of-10 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from the line while making his first start since November 11 at the University of Washington.

 

Cormier’s Career-High

Dylon Cormier had a career-high scoring night at Coppin State, tallying 27 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He made 11-of-12 from the line, 5-of-6 in the final five minutes of the game.

Cormier eclipsed his previous career-best of 26 set last season in a win at George Washington.

The junior guard also was one off his career-high in rebounds, grabbing eight boards for the second-straight game, and he dished out four assists in a career-high 39 minutes of action.

 

Doubling Up

Anthony Winbush notched the first double-double of his career on November 28 at Coppin State, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

His 12 rebounds represented the 12th time in his tenure at Loyola that he has posted 10 or more rebounds, and it was the fourth time he has scored 10 or more points.

He also set a career-high in rebounds, eclipsing the 11 he posted in his seventh career game on November 29, 2008, at Vermont. Winbush also set a career-high in minutes played (37) and matched his previous best in free throws made (five) and attempted (six).

 

Late Game Heroics

Loyola’s games against Albany and Rhode Island, both wins, came down to the last four seconds of regulation (and then some).

On November 18, Albany tied the game with 3.1 ticks on the clock, Loyola Head Coach Jimmy Patsos set up an inbound play in a timeout. Graduate student Anthony Winbush threw a baseball pass 80 feet to Dylon Cormier  who was inside the opposite foul line. Cormier caught the pass, laid it in with his right hand and was fouled in the process by Albany’s D.J. Evans with 1.5 seconds left.

Cormier made the free throw to provide the final margin, and Albany’s inbound pass went off the hands of Evans and out-of-bounds to secure the win.

Robert Olson then sank a 3-pointer with 3.7 on the clock at Rhode Island to force overtime where the Greyhounds would win by four.

 

MAAC Preseason Poll & Player of the Year

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference unveiled its preseason coaches’ poll and the league’s Preseason Player of the Year on Friday night in a live Preseason Awards Show on ESPN3. Loyola was named the team to beat in 2012-2013, and Erik Etherly was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year by the coaches. (Complete poll and All-MAAC teams at left).

This is the first time Loyola has been selected No. 1 in the MAAC preseason poll in 24 years in the league, nor had a Greyhound player been named Preseason Player of the Year prior to Etherly.

Three Loyola players were named to the various Preseason All-MAAC teams as voted on by the coaches of the league.

Erik Etherly earned an All-MAAC First Team nod, while Dylon Cormier and Robert Olson were named to the Second Team.

 

Classy Senior

Senior guard Robert Olson was named one of 30 candidates for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award last week. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Olson was the Greyhounds’ third-leading scorer last season with 11.1 points per game and enters this season Loyola ranked fourth at Loyola in 3-point percentage (138-of-336, .4107) sixth in career 3-pointers made (138) and eighth in 3-pointers attempted (336). Last season, Olson was one of four Loyola players to earn All-MAAC honors, picking up Third Team mention and later All-Tournament honors.

 

High Marks

The Loyola men’s basketball team scored the highest amongst squads in the State of Maryland in the most recent NCAA Graduation Success Rate report. The Greyhounds checked in with a 91-percent GSR, tops among the state’s nine Division I schools, for players who entered the school between 2002-2005.

 

Turnaround…Check

Loyola completed the turnaround from finishing the 2003-2004 season with the lowest RPI in NCAA Division I basketball. The Greyhounds finished that season with a 1-27 record the season before Jimmy Patsos took over as head coach.

Since then, Loyola has gone 131-128 and culminated the turnaround by winning a school Division I record 24 games  in 2011-2012.

Patsos is one of only three coaches at the Division I level in the last 20 years to take over a program that had won zero or one game the year prior to then win 100 games at the school. He joins Steve Cleveland (BYU) and Pat Douglass (UC-Irvine) as the others.

 

Patsos Named Coach & Man Of The Year

Jimmy Patsos became the first Loyola coach to earn The Rock/Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors by a vote of his peers in the league.

Patsos guided the Greyhounds to a school Division I high 24 wins and a program MAAC record 13 victories. He earned his 100th career coaching victory in November 2012 and led the Greyhounds to the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championships.

Later in March, Patsos was named the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award for his work on and off the court, an honor presented by CollegeInsider.com.

 

Century Mark

Head Coach Jimmy Patsos became the third coach in Loyola history to win 100 games when the Greyhounds defeated UMBC, 73-63, on the road last season. Patsos, who is now in his ninth season, took over a team that finished 1-27 during the 2002-2003 season. He won his 100th game in his 215th career game.

Last season, Patsos moved into third-place all time at Loyola in victories, trailing only Lefty Reitz (349 wins, 1937-44, 1945-61) and Nap Doherty (165, 1961-74).

Loyola All-Time Coaching Wins List
1.	349	Lefty Reitz	1937-1944, 1945-1961
2.	165	Nap Doherty	1961-1974
3.	133	Jimmy Patsos	2004-present
4.	85	Mark Amatucci	1982-1989
5.	72	Gary Dicovitsky	1976-1981

 

 

Baltimore Bred And More From Nearby

Since taking over as head coach in 2004, Jimmy Patsos has put an emphasis on recruiting locally, and it has never shown as much as on this year’s roster. Four players – junior guard Dylon Cormier (Cardinal Gibbons), junior forward Jordan Latham (City) and sophomore guard R.J. Williams and freshman forward Josh Forney (St. Frances) are products of schools within the city limits.

Six more players played in high school within 50 miles of Loyola, as the crow flies (thanks daftlogic.com): Jarred Jones, John Carroll, 20.5; Tyler Hubbard, Montrose Christian, 32.6 miles; Robert Olson, Georgetown Prep, 33.9; Anthony Winbush, T.C. Williams, 43.7; and Erik Etherly, Annandale, 47.9.

 

What’s Next

The Greyhounds return to the road for the first time in 2013 to take on Rider University for the second time in 10 days. The teams will play Sunday, January 13, at 2 p.m., in Lawrenceville, N.J.