THE MATCHUP
The Leopards will return to College Hill to take on Holy Cross, which comes into the contest at 6-12 (3-2 PL), for the fifth Patriot League game of the season. The Crusaders are led by senior forward Gerrale Gates, who is averaging 17.8 points per game. Holy Cross looks to bounce back from a 76-58 loss to Lehigh on Wednesday. The Maroon and White aim to keep a two-game win streak alive this afternoon, after defeating Bucknell and Navy back-to-back this week.

LAST MEETING
The last meeting between these two teams took place in Easton, Pa. on Feb. 21, 2022. The Leopards earned an 84-61 victory with CJ Fulton netting a previous career-high 19 points.

THE BIG THREE
The Leopards have three players averaging double figures in Leo O'Boyle (12.4), Kyle Jenkins (11.3), and CJ Fulton (11.3). The trio has accounted for more than half of the Maroon and White's points during the first 18 games of the season.

FINDING THE FRESHMAN
Freshman forward Josh Rivera netted a career-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds against Bucknell on Jan. 8. Against Army on Jan. 1, Rivera managed 16 points and six rebounds in a losing effort. During the second game of the season against St. John's, the freshman scored a then career-high 17 points, five rebounds, and two blocks.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 873 games against current Patriot League members, holding a 451-424 overall record. In League play, Lafayette is 200-272 in the regular season and 23-28 in the Patriot League Tournament.

THAT MIKE JORDAN
For the first time in 27 seasons, the Leopards have a new leader roaming the sidelines in 2000 Penn graduate Mike Jordan, the 19th head coach in Lafayette history. Jordan won three conference championships in the last four seasons as an assistant coach and was named head coach of the Leopards on March 29, 2022. Jordan played 11 seasons professionally across Europe and was a threetime All-Ivy League selection, two-time Ivy League champion and Ivy League Player of the Year as a senior.

BLOCK PARTY
Junior forward Kyle Jenkins registered four blocks in an overtime win versus Bucknell on Jan. 8. That marked the second game in a row that a Lafayette player has recorded at least four blocks. At Boston University on Jan. 5 sophomore Justin Vander Baan recorded four blocks in a 73-69 overtime loss. Jenkins managed two more blocks in the victory at Navy on Jan. 11.

SONDBERG SURGING
Junior forward Eric Sondberg has been efficient over a five-game span. Sondberg netted a career-high 20 points in an overtime loss at Boston U. on Jan. 5. He also scored 14 points in a loss against Army on Jan. 2. During the Leopards game versus American on Dec. 30, Sondberg managed eight points in the loss. Sondberg has shot 16-30 from beyond the arc during the last five games.

SHUFFLING STARTERS
The Leopards have used 14 different starting lineups throughout this season. Mike Jordan and his staff have shuffled through nine different starters through the first 18 games. CJ Fulton is the only Leopard to start every game this season.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Leopards scored a season-high 90 points in their second victory of the season against La Salle on Dec. 21. For the first time in 13 games, the Maroon and White had four players score in double figures in CJ Fulton (20), Leo O'Boyle (13), Josh Rivera (12) and TJ Berger (10). The Leopards shot 61.5% from the field and 57.7% from beyond the arc.

FAMILIAR FACES, FAMILIAR FOES
Mike Jordan and the Leopards took on some old pals along the way, highlighted by the final nonconference test at La Salle against his college head coach, Fran Dunphy, who is also in his first season as the head coach of the Explorers. Lafayette hosted Jordan's alma mater, Penn, earlier this year and will play his former boss and college teammate, Matt Langel of Colgate, twice in the league stretch of the schedule. Jordan worked as an assistant under previous foe Drexel's head coach Zach Spiker in 2020-21, helping lead the Dragons to their first-ever CAA title and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years.

SOLO SENIOR
Just one senior is rostered for Lafayette in Leo O'Boyle, who plays a versatile role as a big body and a shooter. O'Boyle netted a career-high 24 points against Bucknell on Jan. 9 and has scored in double figures during 11 games.

NEED SOME ASSISTANCE?
Sophomore guard CJ Fulton is second in the Patriot League in assists at 4.8 per game. In 18 games played, the Belfast, Ireland native has dished out 87 assists on the year. Fulton also ranks first in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 2.6.

MAJOR MINUTES
CJ Fulton has led the Leopards in minutes played. In the overtime loss to Penn, Fulton played 42 minutes, scoring 12 points to go along with seven assists, and seven rebounds. Against UMBC, Fulton registered 39 minutes on the court. The Belfast, Ireland native also clocked 40 minutes versus St. Joseph's, where he totaled a season-high five steals. He currently ranks first in the league in minutes played with 35.9 per game. Teammate Kyle Jenkins sits behind him in fifth with 33.3 minutes per game.

THE RETURNING STARTERS
Three of the Leopards' starters from last season are back, led by Patriot League All-Rookie performer CJ Fulton. Senior Leo O'Boyle provides senior leadership for the Leopards, along with his 112 career 3-point field goals entering the season. Junior Kyle Jenkins has valuable experience having started in 51 of the 61 games he has appeared in during his career.

KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE BALL
Lafayette ranked second in the Patriot League last season with 263 three-point shots made. The Leopards bring back some firepower from beyond the arc with senior Leo O'Boyle who knocked down 56 shots from three, sophomore Jon Brantley (44) and sophomore Kyle Jenkins (41). The Leopards are averaging 9.6 threes per game this season, ranking them first in the Patriot League.