OPENING TIP
* Lafayette goes for its second three-game win streak of the conference season on Saturday afternoon, hosting American in a battle of two teams in the top half of the Patriot League standings. 
* Last time out, the Leopards went on the road to complete the season sweep of defending champion and preseason favorite Colgate by an 80-78 score in Hamilton, N.Y. Lafayette is the only team to defeat Colgate in league play this season, snapping the Raiders' 16-game home winning streak.
* Freshman Leo O'Boyle has blossomed in league play, averaging 8.9 points per night in conference outings compared to just 1.5 per game through the non-conference slate. O'Boyle has started the last two contests. 

ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS GAME
Saturday afternoon's contest marks Lafayette's Alzheimer's Awareness Game. The event, constructed by senior Cal Reichwein in honor of his grandfather, serves to create awareness about the effects of Alzheimer's, with collected proceeds going to the BrightFocus Foundation. BrightFocus funds exceptional scientific research worldwide to defeat Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration and glaucoma.

LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette used production from everywhere on Wednesday night in Hamilton, N.Y., registering five double-figure scorers, including a double-double from senior co-captain Myles Cherry, to knock off defending champion and preseason Patriot League favorite Colgate for the second time this season, 80-78.

The Leopards have handed the Raiders their only two losses of the conference campaign to this point, dropping the league leaders, entering the game ranked 15th in the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25, to 7-2 in conference action and 16-6 overall. Lafayette improved to 5-4 in Patriot League play with the win and now sit at 13-7 overall this winter, ending Colgate's 16-game home winning streak, the seventh-longest in the nation.

An offensive first half saw the Leopards enter the halftime break with a 43-40 advantage on 10 points apiece from freshman Leo O'Boyle and junior Justin Jaworski. Colgate took over the lead five minutes into the second stanza and it went back-and-forth down the stretch, entering the final minute tied at 78-78.

Out of a timeout, senior co-captain Lukas Jarrett found Cherry on a high-low play for the final bucket of the contest. The Leopards locked down defensively, seeing rim-outs on layup opportunities for Colgate's Jordan Burns and Rapolas Ivanauskas close it out.

Cherry's 13 points and 14 rebounds made up his sixth double-double of the season and eighth of his career to power a balanced attack for the Maroon and White. Junior E.J. Stephens finished with 17 points, while Jaworski, sophomore Tyrone Perry and O'Boyle added 15, 14 and 12 points, respectively.

LAST MEETING
Alex Petrie's falling-away driving layup from the right block with three seconds to play proved the difference for Lafayette on Feb. 20, 2019 at Kirby Sports Center, defeating American by a final of 70-68.

The game started as a marquee night for senior co-captain Paulius Zalys, who became the program's 45th 1,000-point scorer early in the second half. But it ended with a victory in large part due to the play of Petrie down the stretch, who scored the Leopards' final seven points in the last three minutes.

With less than two minutes to play and American up five, Petrie's jumper made it a three-point game at 68-65. The defense got yet another stop, allowing just two points in the final three minutes of action, setting up Petrie's finish through a foul with the free throw tying it at 68-68.

On the ensuing possession, American's Sa'eed Nelson drew a foul and went to the line for 1-and-1 to potentially take the lead into the final seconds. Instead, he missed the front end, setting up Petrie's heroics to win it.

Zalys led the Leopards offensively on his milestone night, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Petrie added 14, while classmate Justin Jaworski and Lukas Jarrett chipped in with 13 and 11, respectively. 

THOUSAND ISLAND
With his 19-point effort in the win over Holy Cross on Jan. 8, junior Justin Jaworski became the 46th player in Lafayette men's basketball history to record more than 1,000 career points. Jaworski has netted 1,088 total points in his two-plus seasons of work and sits 37th on Lafayette's all-time scoring list. 

THE SKINNY ON THE EAGLES
Following a 4-7 non-league slate, American has started to look like a team picked to finish in the top three of the Patriot League standings since entering conference action. The Eagles are 6-3 in Patriot League play entering Saturday's tilt with the Maroon and White and are coming off wins in four of their last five, including a 77-56 victory over Lehigh the last time out on Monday on CBS Sports Network.

Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Sa'eed Nelson is once again the engine for American this season, averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per contest in his senior season. Minnesota transfer Jamir Harris is the other Eagle averaging in double-figure scoring at 11.0 points per outing, while Mark Gasperini paces the visitors on the glass at 5.5 boards per night.

CHERRY ON TOP
Senior Myles Cherry has picked his senior season to record the best productivity of his career, averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game with six double-doubles this season after just three combined over his first three seasons on College Hill. Cherry scored 14 points in each of the Leopards' games against Columbia and St. Francis Brooklyn and added 11 and 12 rebounds, respectively, in the two contests. He registered 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win over FDU, 12 points and 10 boards at Sacred Heart and Loyola, respectively, and 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds the last time out at Colgate. 

On the road at Navy on Jan. 18, Cherry had his best offensive game in a Leopard uniform, scoring 22 points on 9-of-10 from the floor,adding seven rebounds in the two-point defeat. The Newcastle, Australia native sits second in the Patriot League rankings in field-goal percentage, converting from the floor at a 63.9 percent clip. 

TURNING THE CORNER
Lafayette's offensive efficiency and momentum control has been the difference this season, second in the Patriot League in scoring at 73.1 points per game. The Leopards have shot better than 50 percent from the field in nine of their 13 victories, averaging a 47.3 field-goal percentage from the floor overall, good enough for 26th nationally and second in the league rankings. Additionally, Lafayette has led at the half in 14 of the 20 games this season and also leads the Patriot League in three-point percentage (37.5), blocks (4.1 bpg) and defensive rebounds per game (27.4).