The men’s basketball team took a double-digit second half lead, then withstood a final Lafayette run to hold on for a 70-68 victory, improving the Hounds’ winning streak to three. They are now officially over .500, sitting at a record of 15-14 overall and 7-9 in the Patriot League.

Spanish big men Santi Aldama ’23 and Golden Dike ’23 both had double-doubles, as Aldama had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Dike went for 14 and 12. Andrew Kostecka ’20 led the team’s scoring efforts with 16 points.

The game remained even for most of the first half. Loyola managed to take a seven-point lead off a Kostecka three with 4:16 to go, but this was the largest lead either team would accumulate in the first half. Lafayette ended the half with a three to make the halftime score 38-34, Hounds.

The home Leopards went on a brief run early in the second half to go up 45-41, but Loyola quickly regained the lead off a dunk from Aldama and a three from Kostecka. They would retain the lead for the rest of the game.

Loyola scored many baskets in the paint and on the fast break, getting easy lay-ups from Aldama, Kostecka, Jaylin Andrews ’22, and others. Cam Spencer ’23 hit his third three of the day moments later to put the Hounds up 59-49, giving them the largest lead up to that point with 11:11 to go.

After trading a pair of baskets to make the score 61-51, both offenses went stagnant for the next several minutes. It was not until 8:05 on the game clock that either team scored again when Kostecka sank two free throws.

Loyola missed some free throws down the stretch, allowing Lafayette to slowly chip away at their lead. Two straight Leopard threes brought the lead down to 68-66 with just 27 seconds remaining, but Kostecka made three more free throws to ice the game. 

The Leopards did hit their final shot as time expired, but it was too little too late as the Greyhounds escaped with a 70-68 victory.

The men’s basketball team stays on the road to face in-state opponent Navy on Wednesday evening in Annapolis. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.

Featured Image Courtesy of Loyola Athletics.