OPENING TIP
- Lafayette opens the Patriot League Tournament at home for the second straight season on Tuesday night, welcoming 10-seed Holy Cross to Kirby Sports Center for a first-round matchup with the Crusaders. The winner will move on to face second-seed Bucknell on Thursday in the quarterfinal round.

- The Leopards have never lost a Patriot League Tournament game at home, going 11-0 all-time, with all 11 coming under head coach Fran O'Hanlon. O'Hanlon holds the Patriot League record for tournament wins with 21 and tournament games coached (41). 

- Sophomore Justin Jaworski has gone 47 straight games with a three, the second-longest streak in the nation. Jaworski is second in the country in three-point efficiency, knocking down triples at a 48.8 percent clip, a mark that would place him as the single-season record holder in program history, passing the 46.5 percent clip set by Jim Mower '12 during the 2009-10 season. On Monday, Jaworski was selected to the All-Patriot League Third Team, the first all-conference honor of his career.

JAWORSKI THE LONE ALL-LEAGUE LEOPARD
Sophomore Justin Jaworski was named to the All-Patriot League Third Team, the Patriot League office announced on Monday afternoon. Jaworski led the Leopards in scoring this season at 14.4 points per outing and netted a team-best 15.4 points per game in Patriot League play. The Schwenksville, Pennsylvania native improved on a 10.8 points per game average in his freshman season a year ago and has developed into the top weapon for the Maroon and White in 2018-19, leading the team in minutes at 30.4 per contest.

From beyond the arc, Jaworski is having one of the best years in Lafayette program history, shooting 48.8 percent from three this season and 54.5 percent in Patriot League games. The 48.8 mark ranks second in the nation in shooting efficiency from distance and is more than two percentage points clear of Lafayette's current single-season record at 46.5 percent, held by Jim Mower during the 2009-10 campaign.

Jaworski has knocked down at least one three in 46 straight games, the second-longest streak in the country. His 2.8 per game from three-point range is second in the Patriot League and he also sits second in the conference in free-throw shooting at 87.8 percent from the charity stripe.

2017-18 TOURNAMENT RECAP
Lafayette, entering last year's tournament as the seven seed with an overall record of 9-20, put together a stellar offensive performance in an opening-round win over American. The Leopards tied their largest scoring output of the year with 93 points, a Lafayette postseason record, breaking the previously-held mark of 89 against Colgate on March 8, 2003 and versus Boston U. on March 5, 2015. 

The Leopards improved to 11-0 at home in postseason play, going 30-of-59 from the floor (50.8%) and 12-of-19 from three-point range (63.2%). Matt Klinewski '18 led four players in double-figure scoring with 23 points, while Justin Jaworski, Alex Petrie and Eric Stafford '18 rounded it out with 20, 17 and 12 points, respectively.

The win moved Lafayette to the quarterfinal round and a meeting in Hamilton, New York with second-seed Colgate. Unfortunately, the offense didn't make the trip as the Leopards closed their season with a 76-54 defeat. 

LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette did everything it could to knock off the eventual Patriot League regular season champions on Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center, but Colgate pulled away late on the free-throw line to down the Maroon and White by a score of 76-70.

The Leopards led at halftime by a 31-26 score and by a six-point margin, 52-46, with less than 11 minutes to play. Then came the Raiders' response, using a 17-3 run over a five-minute stretch to swing the game in their favor, up 63-55 with 5:34 left.

Lafayette fought back to tie it twice on three's from sophomores Alex Petrie and Justin Jaworski in the final two minutes, sending the game to the deciding stretch at 68-68. A triple from Colgate's Will Rayman at the 45-second mark and 5-for-6 for the visitors from the foul line to close it out thwarted the Leopards' comeback.

Four different Lafayette players finished in double-figure scoring, led by a game-high 21 from Jaworski on 4-of-9 from distance. Senior co-captain Paulius Zalys and Petrie added 16 each, while sophomore E.J. Stephens scored 10 with a career-high nine rebounds. Zalys and classmate Auston Evans earned the start on Senior Day as they were honored in a pregame ceremony with their families.

The Leopards went 23-of-52 from the floor on the afternoon (44.2%) and hit 9-of-27 from distance (33.3%), but uncharacteristically struggled from the foul line, hitting just 62.5 percent from the stripe (15-of-24). Colgate went 23-for-56 overall (41.1%) and 9-of-22 from distance (40.9%), making 21-of-26 from the free-throw line.

THE SKINNY ON THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross is no stranger to success out of a first-round Patriot League Tournament appearance after a historic run to the Patriot League title from that position in 2015-16. That season, the Crusaders were the nine seed, defeating No. 8 Loyola, No. 1 Bucknell in double overtime, No. 4 Army and No. 2 Lehigh on its way to a Patriot League crown. The Crusaders come to Easton this time around with an overall record of 15-16, but just a 6-12 mark in conference action. Following impressive wins over Bucknell and Lehigh prior to the final week of the regular season, Holy Cross stumbled in its past two, falling to Colgate and American to slip to the 10 spot.

The Crusaders pride themselves on the defensive end where Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Jehyve Floyd leads the league in blocks at 2.5 per contest. Holy Cross carries a +4.0 turnover margin and is the top defensive team in the Patriot League as one of three teams allowing less than 70 points per game (69.2). The visitors get the majority of their offense from four sources in Jacob Grandison (13.7 ppg), Austin Butler (12.7 ppg), Floyd (12.5 ppg) and Caleb Green (10.7 ppg).

LAST MEETING
Lafayette found itself battling adversity at Kirby Sports Center on Feb. 10, but the Leopards showed resiliency as free throws with less than five seconds to play proved to be the difference in a 69-67 victory.

Lafayette controlled the opening half and went into the break with a 47-35 advantage, but Holy Cross quickly closed the gap and led by a bucket midway through the second stanza. Despite squandering the advantage, the Leopards continued to fight and ultimately hung on as sophomore Justin Jaworski drilled two foul shots with five seconds left to seal it.

Jaworski finished with a game-high 18 points on the afternoon, one of five Leopards to record a double-figuring scoring line. Classmate Alex Petrie added 13, while junior Lukas Jarrett, sophomore E.J. Stephens and freshman Isaac Suffren chipped in with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Leopards put their three-point shooting on display, scoring 42 of their 62 points from beyond the arc. Lafayette went 14-of-29 from distance on the day (48.3%), including Petrie's 4-of-6 mark, 3-of-7 from Jaworski and two makes each from Jarrett, Stephens and Suffren.

CLUTCH TIME FOR COACH O
With the win over American on March 11, 2015, Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon passed Pat Flannery (Bucknell, 1995-2008) for the top spot in all-time tournament wins with 20. O'Hanlon currently sits at 21 tournament victories and also holds the record for most tournament games coached at 41. 

FIRST ROUND FAMILIARITY
Since the first round was instituted with the addition of Boston U. and Loyola for the 2013-14 season, Lafayette has been one of the four teams every year but one, winning the title from the four-seed position in 2014-15. The Leopards are 2-2 in first-round matchups, defeating American a year ago and Loyola on the road in 2014. Lafayette's losses came on the road at Navy in 2016 and at Loyola in 2017.