OPENING TIP
* Lafayette opened its 2021 season with a split in The Rivalry last weekend, earning its first victory on Sunday at Kirby Sports Center after falling on a buzzer-beater on Saturday. 
* Senior co-captain Justin Jaworski was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Wednesday afternoon after a stellar performance in his return from missing the final seven games a year ago to injury. Jaworski leads the nation in scoring at 32.5 points per game and notched a career-high 37 points in the season opener, tied for the 12th highest single-game scoring output in Lafayette history.
* Bucknell is seeking its first victory of the season after dropping a pair to Navy on opening weekend.

THIRTY AND THRIVING
The joint performances of seniors Justin Jaworski and E.J. Stephens on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Lehigh was something Leopard fans haven't seen in at least 30 years. Career-highs of 37 and 30 points, respectively, for the two co-captains made them the only duo in Lafayette history during the Patriot League era to post 30 or more points in the same game.

On the Patriot League level, the feat hasn't been accomplished in more than 10 years. On Jan. 9, 2010 , Boston U.'s John Holland and Corey Lowe scored 32 and 31 points each in an overtime win over Morehead State.

A STATEMENT RETURN
Justin Jaworski was selected as the first Patriot League Player of the Week of the 2021 season, the Patriot League office announced on Wednesday afternoon, the second weekly honor of his career. Jaworski's Saturday performance is tied for 12th in Lafayette history for the best single-game effort by a Leopard, matching 37-point efforts from Tracy Tripucka (Dec. 1, 1969 vs. Moravian) and Jim Mower (Nov. 22, 2011 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson). His 32.5 points per game leads all of Division I in scoring and his 4.0 threes per game ranks fourth, nationally.

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS
Lafayette and Bucknell each won on the other's home floor a season ago to move the all-time series record to 90-79 in the Leopards' favor. 

On Jan. 5, 2020, Bucknell started the second half on a 17-0 run to wing momentum and carry the Bison to a 78-66 final. The Bison hot 7-of-12 from distance int he second half and made 20-of-36 from the field (55.6%) with just two turnovers. Lafayette followed up a 39-30 halftime lead with just 27 points in the second stanza, making 2-of-15 from distance (13.3%) and 9-of-27 from the floor (33.3%) in the second 20 minutes.

The second matchup on Feb. 3, 2020 in Kirby played out similarly to the first as Bucknell erased a 40-27 halftime deficit within the first eight minutes of the second half. The final 12 minutes were played within a one-possession margin and a pair of defensive stops in the final 1:05 secured a 65-62 victory for the Maroon and White.

LAST WEEKEND
Saturday in Bethlehem - The odds were in Lehigh's favor in the 2021 season and Patriot League openeras Lehigh's Marques Wilson hit a buzzer-beating three from the right hash to out-shine career days for multiple Leopards in a 90-89 defeat.

Justin Jaworski and E.J. Stephens were 75.3 percent of the Maroon and White offense , scoring career-highs of 37 and 30 points, respectively. Jaworski's 37 is the highest scoring output for a Leopard since Jim Mower dropped 37 on Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 2, 2011.

With 19 seconds remaining in regulation and the game tied at 79, junior Tyrone Perry drove to his right and threw a high floater off the glass, just out of the reach of a put-back attempt from senior co-captain Dylan Hastings. Lehigh's final heave was off the mark as the game moved to an extra frame.Overtime was dead even throughout before a jumper from Stephens on the right wing put the Leopards in front by two, 89-87, with 2.2 seconds on the clock. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough as Wilson's heave was true as the horn sounded on a 90-89 final.

Jaworski was 12-of-19 from the floor, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 10-of-11 from the foul line to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for an outstanding return to the court after missing the final seven games of the 2019-20 season with a knee injury. Stephens accompanied that with an 11-for-20 effort from the floor, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 from the foul line for his 30 points, coupled with eight boards as well.

Sunday in Easton -  Senior co-captain Justin Jaworski continued to impress for the Lafayette men's basketball team on Sunday evening at Kirby Sports Center as he followed up Saturday's career-high 37-point performance with 28 points on Sunday to lead the Leopards to their first win of the 2021 campaign over Lehigh, 82-70.

Jaworski's game-high 28 points came on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor and 5-of-10 from the outside. Twenty of his 28 came in the opening half and he added three rebounds and two assists to round out his stat line.

Sophomore Leo O'Boyle, junior Tyrone Perry and senior co-captain E.J. Stephens were the other double-digit contributors for the Leopards, tallying 14, 12 and 12 points, respectively. The third tri-captain, senior Dylan Hastings, led a solid effort on the glass with a game-high nine rebounds, while junior Sean Good added four blocks, four assists, six points and six boards in 25 minutes.

BALL SECURITY
Through the first two games of the 2021 season, Lafayette has been exceptional in running its offense. The Leopards lead the nation in fewest turnovers and are fourth nationally (and tops in the Patriot League) in assist/turnover ratio at 1.8. 

Dylan Hastings sits in the top five in the league and 35th in the country, dishing out three assists for every one turnover he commits to the lead the team in that area. Lafayette is passing out 18 assists per game through two contests, good enough for third in the league rankings.

THE SKINNY ON THE BISON
Bucknell is a team in transition as it tries to find its way on the offensive and defensive side of the ball through the early season. The Bison dropped each side of a two-game set with Navy during the opening weekend, falling on the road by a 78-69 score and losing, 63-60, at home for an 0-2 start.

Junior Andrew Funk leads a pair of double-figure scorers at 12.5 points per game, while rookie Deuce Turner is putting up 11.0 points per night thus far. Senior John Meeks, an All-Patriot League Third-Team selection a year ago, missed the opening weekend due to injury and the Bison lost key performers Jimmy Sotos and Kahliel Spear to the the transfer portal during the offseason. 

NEW FACES
Lafayette welcomed a four-member freshman class to College Hill this fall, including guards Ryan Zambie, Jon Brantley and Eric Sondberg, and forward Kyle Jenkins. The Leopards will also get the services of Richmond transfer forward Tomas Verbinskis, who sat out the spring semester in 2020 due to transfer rule obligations.  

Jenkins and Brantley earned extended minutes in the opening weekend, averaging 15.6 and 8.6 per games, respectively. Each hit their first career triple in Sunday's victory with Jenkins adding three boards per contest.

FREEBIES
Lafayette is perennially one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the Patriot League and has lived up to that reputation this season. In Sunday's victory over Lehigh, the Leopards knocked down all 16 of their free-throw attempts, the first time a Leopard team has gone 100 percent from the line with at least 15 attempts since Feb. 1, 2014. On the year, the Maroon and White have missed just six foul shots as a team, going 37-of-43 from the line (86.0%). Those numbers place them second in the country in free-throw percentage and sophomore Leo O'Boyle leads the nation with a perfect 5-for-5 from the line this year.