OPENING TIP
- Lafayette heads back to the road for the fourth time in its first five games to take on Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, N.J. on Sunday afternoon. The Leopards will look to rebound off a 12-point loss to St. Francis Brooklyn in the home opener at Kirby Sports Center on Nov. 18, 84-72, while the Knights defeated Princeton in their last time out, 77-66.
- Lafayette's shooting efficiency has been a bright spot early in the 2018-19 campaign, sitting in the top three in the conference in free-throw percentage (1st, 80.3%), three-point field-goal percentage (1st, 41.5%) and overall field-goal percentage (3rd, 45.6%).
- Sunday's contest marks the 693rd game of head coach Fran O'Hanlon's career. In his 24th year at the helm of the Leopards, O'Hanlon boasts 314 career victories.
- Next up, Lafayette returns home for Cornell and Sacred Heart next week at Kirby Sports Center.

LAST TIME OUT
Down by as many as 25 in the second half on Nov. 18 against St. Francis Brooklyn in the home opener, the Leopards pulled within single digits of the Terriers late, but couldn't complete the comeback in an 84-72 defeat. Sophomores Alex Petrie and Justin Jaworski did their part, finishing with 21 and 16 points on the day, respectively. Petrie added a career-high eight rebounds, while Jaworski chipped in with five boards, two assists and two steals. Turnovers and empty possessions were the key as St. Francis Brooklyn executed well on the offensive end. The Terriers went 30-of-68 from the field (44.1%), forcing Lafayette into 20 turnovers and committing just 12 of their own, while also winning the battle on the glass, 41-37.

THE SKINNY ON THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson returns four starters from a team that went 13-18 a year ago, finishing 9-9 in Northeast Conference play and falling in the tournament semifinals to LIU-Brooklyn by one to end their season, 78-77. The Knights have started strong this year with a 3-1 mark including 2-0 at home, and a 77-66 victory over Princeton in its last time out on Wednesday evening.

Fairleigh Dickinson boasts three double-figure scorers led by 19.8 per game from Darnell Edge. Xzavier Malone-Key follows at 13.5 per game on an impressive 47.4 percent from beyond the arc, while Jahlil Jenkins chips in with 12.3 per contest. Kaleb Bishop paces the Knights on the glass at 8.0 boards per outing, while Jenkins is averaging just over four assists per night.

The two keys to the game on paper will be three-point shooting and turnovers as Lafayette looks to take advantage of an FDU team that allows a 38.8 percent mark to its opponents from beyond the arc. The Leopards are shooting three's this season at a 41.5 percent clip, averaging 9.8 make's per outing, good enough for second in the Patriot League with that volume. If Lafayette can take care of the ball, something it's struggled with at 17.5 giveaways per game, against a team that forces almost 20 turnovers per contest, that and three-point shooting could be the recipe for success. 

DON'T MAKE NO SENSE
Lafayette, a mainstay each season in the top half of the Patriot League's offensive categories, is right there again this season, sitting in the top three in the conference in free-throw percentage (1st, 80.3%), three-point field-goal percentage (1st, 41.5%) and overall field-goal percentage (3rd, 45.6%). However, those numbers have not resulted in the most important statistic as the Leopards are just fifth in overall scoring offense at 74.0 points per game as a unit. The cause of this irony is most likely in ball security as the Leopards look to clean up a -7.5 turnover margin, coughing up more than 17 turnovers per outing. 

LAST MEETING
Bryce Scott '16 scored his 1,000th career point and Matt Klinewski '18 added his first career double-double, but the Leopards fell in overtime against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 9, 2015 by a 91-89 final.

Scott went 5-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and hit on all eight of his free-throw attempts to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals on his historic night. While Nick Lindner '17 led the way in scoring with a game-high 24 points, Klinewski was the other story for the Leopards, dropping 15 points and corralling 16 rebounds in a dominant effort. The sophomore went 4-of-8 from the field and 7-for-11 from the foul line.

Lafayette as a unit went 26-for-62 from the floor (41.9%) and 11-for-31 from three-point range on the night (35.5%). The Leopards converted 26-of-34 free-throw attempts (76.5%), but committed a season-high 23 turnovers compared to 15 assists.

SHARKNADO
Sophomore guard Justin Jaworski (Jaws) has been Lafayette's most productive player this season, leading the team in scoring at 16.0 points per night and adding 4.3 rebounds per game from his guard spot, good for second on the team. Jaworski is ranked in the top five in the Patriot League in five different statistical categories through four games, including free-throw percentage (1st, 100.0%), three's per game (1st, 3.5), three-point field-goal percentage (4th, 50.0%), scoring (5th, 16.0 ppg) and steals (5th, 1.3 spg). 

The Schwenksville, Pennsylvania native netted a number of career-high's in Lafayette's season-opening overtime defeat at Saint Peter's, including a game-high 28 points with career-best's in rebounds (5), three's (6), three-point attempts (11), free throws (8) and free-throw attempts (8). Jaworski led the Leopards in minutes a year ago at 28.7 per game despite starting in just 13 contests and finished third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per night.