OPENING TIP
* Kirby Sports Center is expecting its first sellout of the season on Saturday afternoon as The Rivalry returns for Round Two. Lafayette won the first matchup with the Mountain Hawks behind 20 points from junior Justin Jaworski on Jan. 25, 74-56, in Bethlehem.
* Lafayette is going for its first rivalry sweep since the 2012-13 campaign. That year, the Leopards defeated their rivals three times, including a playoff victory in the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals in Kirby.
* The Maroon and White are looking to match their longest win streak of the season having won five straight through the middle of non-conference action in November and December.
#O25
Throughout the 2019-20 Lafayette men's basketball season, Lafayette athletics is honoring head coach
Fran O'Hanlon for his 25-year tenure on College Hill. O'Hanlon is the longest-tenured coach in the Patriot League, has won four conference titles and owns three NCAA Tournament appearances, including both feats most recently in 2014-15. The native of Philadelphia holds the overall Patriot League record for games coached with 740 and currently sits at 338 career victories.
WHITE OUT
Saturday's game marks the Lafayette men's basketball annual white out game. Lafayette's student section, Leopards Lair, will be handing out white out t-shirts prior to the game and all fans are encouraged to wear white.
LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette tightened up defensively late in the second half as junior
E.J. Stephens' above-the-rim finish served as the only points in the final 4:55 on Monday evening as the Leopards downed Bucknell for their fourth straight victory, 65-62.
Lafayette came out strong in the opening half to take a 40-27 edge into the halftime break, but it took less than eight minutes for the Bison to erase the deficit and the final 12 minutes were all played within a one-possession margin either way. Junior co-captain
Justin Jaworski, senior co-captain
Lukas Jarrett and Stephens made the plays in the final five that won it.
Following a pair of free throws from Bucknell's John Meeks to put the home side up two, 62-60, Jaworski buried a triple on the next possession to put the Leopards back in front. Ten empty possessions followed as the game closed in on the minute mark before Jarrett's block led to a run-out slam from Stephens to make it 65-62. The Leopards sealed it with two defensive stops in the final 1:05.
The win snaps a nine-game skid for the Maroon and White in the series with Bucknell, last winning in the Patriot League Semifinals in 2015 on their way to a conference title. Lafayette improved to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in league play, secure in third place in the Patriot League standings, while Bucknell fell under .500 in Patriot League play at 5-6, currently 9-15 overall.
Jaworski followed up his career-high 32 points in the win over American on Feb. 1 with a game-high 20 on Monday night, moving into 32nd on Lafayette's all-time scoring list. Senior co-captain
Myles Cherry ripped down 10 rebounds, while sophomore
Tyrone Perry and Stephens added 13 and 11 points, respectively for the Leopard attack.
Jarrett, who missed his only game of the season in the earlier matchup with the Bison on Jan. 8, was a difference-maker in multiple areas, particularly defensively at the rim, tying a career-high with five blocks. The Northport, N.Y. native chipped in seven points, four assists, four rebounds and a steal as well.
LAST MEETING
Junior
Justin Jaworski netted a game-high 20 points to power Lafayette past Lehigh on the road on Jan. 25, 74-56, in the first 2019-20 edition of The Rivalry.
The Leopards controlled the game for all but the opening 2:14, stretching an eight-point edge at halftime to 16 with a 10-2 run over the first four minutes of the second stanza to put it out of reach early.
Jaworski made just 3-of-10 from distance, but went 5-for-7 on two-point field goals for his 20 points to go along with a pair of rebounds, assists and steals. Freshman
Leo O'Boyle, in his first career start, was effective, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 from the floor with five rebounds and three assists to just one turnover in 23 minutes of run. Senior co-captain
Lukas Jarrett was the other double-figure scorer with 11 points (4-of-6 from the field) and classmate
Kyle Stout gave solid minutes as well with seven points and six boards in his 19:20 of action.
#BEATLEHIGH
As Lafayette continues to turn around its athletic program in a number of different sports, the three ticketed sports have all had success against their crosstown rival this season. Lafayette's football team defeated Lehigh in the 156th meeting of college football's most-played rivalry in Bethlehem on Nov. 21, 17-16, and both the men's and women's basketball teams defeated the Mountain Hawks in the first 2019-20 hardwood edition of The Rivalry on Saturday, Jan. 25. Prior to this year, Lafayette's football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams have not beaten Lehigh in the same season since the 2014-15 campaign, a notable win for the football program as it came in Yankee Stadium for The Rivalry's 150th anniversary. The Leopards' Ross Scheuerman rushed for a Lafayette-record 304 yards and three touchdowns in the 27-7 win.
THE SKINNY ON THEM
Snapping a skid of eight consecutive victories in the series with Lafayette the last meeting on Jan. 25, Lehigh enters Saturday afternoon's tilt with a 5-18 overall record and a 2-9 mark in conference action. The Mountain Hawks returned just two starters this season from a 20-win team that advanced to the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals a year ago, falling to Bucknell in Lewisburg by a 97-75 score. Lehigh has lost seven straight contests with its last win coming at home against American on Jan. 11, 82-73.
Senior Jordan Cohen has been forced into a do-everything role for the Mountain Hawks this year with junior James Karnik, the only other Lehigh player averaging double-figure scoring, out for the last nine games due to injury. Cohen is putting up 14.8 points per contest, while Nic Lynch and Jeameril Wilson have tried to pick up the Karnik slack at 9.8 and 9.0 points per game, respectively. Lynch has paced the visitors on the glass in Karnik's absence at 5.0 boards per night.
QUICK STARTS
Lafayette has been excellent in the first half of games this season, beginning games on the front foot and forcing its opponents to waste energy on comeback efforts. The Leopards have led at the half in 17 of their 22 games this winter and have outscored opponents 822-753 over the first 20 minutes this season, an average of 3.1 points per outing.
AT HOME ON COLLEGE HILL
Fran O'Hanlon is one of only five head coaches to direct the same Division I program since the start of the 1995-96 season. O'Hanlon is joined on the list by Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Bob McKillop (Davidson) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State).
