OPENING TIP
- Lafayette kicks off three straight at Kirby Sports Center on Saturday afternoon, hosting Army in the second meeting between the two sides this season. The Black Knights jumped out to big lead in the first meeting and held on for a 77-69 win in West Point on Jan. 5.

- Senior co-captain Paulius Zalys continues to impress in his final campaign, posting a season-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists in Lafayette's win over American on Jan. 19. Zalys is averaging 13.7 points per night in Patriot League play and is just 61 points away from becoming Lafayette's 45th 1,000-point scorer.

- The Leopards will host the second round of The Rivalry on Wednesday, welcoming Lehigh in the second game of a double-header at Kirby. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. 

COACHES VS. CANCER
In Lafayette's games at Colgate and at home versus Army this week, the Leopard coaching staff will be wearing suits and sneakers as part of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coaches vs. Cancer initiative. One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and, since its inception, Coaches vs. Cancer has raised over $115 million to support the American Cancer Society and save lives. The fight against cancer is working as, from 1991-2016, the cancer death rate fell 27 percent. That means more than 2.6 million deaths avoided due to the efforts of the ACS.

LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette could never get its offense working on Wednesday evening in Hamilton, New York, dropping a defensive battle to Colgate, 57-47.

The Leopards posted their best defensive performance against a Division I opponent in just shy of a year, but couldn't reciprocate that on the other end. Lafayette last held a D-I team under 60 points in an 81-54 win over Army at Kirby Sports Center on Feb. 7, 2018.

Colgate extended its home record to 7-0 this season, moving to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in Patriot League action. With the loss, Lafayette drops to 2-5 in league play and 5-13 overall.

Sophomore guards Alex Petrie and Justin Jaworski were the lone double-figure scorers for the Maroon and White with 12 points apiece. Senior co-captain Paulius Zalys added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists, while freshman Sean Good chipped in with three boards and two blocks.

Colgate's Rapolas Ivanauskas led all scorers with 13 points on the night, followed by Will Rayman with 12 for the Raiders. The glass was a difference-maker for the home side in the second half, out-boarding Lafayette 23-10 in the second 20 minutes of play.

THE SKINNY ON THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army, picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League Preseason poll, has been stellar since the start of Patriot League play, going 5-2 in conference play to sit in a tie for second in the league standings. The Black Knights are led by Jimmy Allen in his third season and enter Saturday's tilt with a 10-10 overall record after going 13-17 a year a go and 6-12 in Patriot League play.

Army is led offensively by three double-figure scorers in Matt Wilson, Tommy Funk and Jordan Fox at 14.7, 12.4 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Wilson also paces the visitors on the glass with a league-leading 8.5 boards per contest. Army will look for its aggressive defensive play to generate offense, ranking second in the conference in both turnover margin (+2.3) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4), and fourth in steals at 5.9 per outing.

LAST MEETING
Lafayette trimmed a 17-point halftime deficit to five on Jan. 5 in West Point, New York, but ultimately ran out of time in a 77-69 defeat to Army West Point in Patriot League action.

Trailing by a 42-25 score at the break, the Leopards came out of the locker room strong, cutting it to 10 over the first four minutes at 44-34. The margin stayed between 10 and 12 points for the majority of the second half before a late surge had it at 71-66 with 58 seconds to play. Army hit its foul shots down the stretch, though, and Lafayette's momentum ended there.

Junior Lukas Jarrett led the Leopards on the offensive end with 14 points, going 6-of-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point range. Sophomore Justin Jaworski added 13 points, while classmate E.J. Stephens and junior Myles Cherry added 10 points apiece.

Army's edge on the boards proved to be a deciding factor in the contest, winning the rebounding battle by a 39-29 margin. The Black Knights were efficient on the offensive end, connecting on 30-of-57 from the field (52.6%), while Lafayette hit on 30-of-69 from the floor (43.5%), while going without a free-throw attempt in the contest.

JARRETT'S DAY
Junior Lukas Jarrett led the Leopards in scoring for the first time in his career with 14 points against Army earlier this season. Jarrett went 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range to accompany three blocks, three steals and an assist.