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Men's Hoops Travels to Lehigh for The Rivalry

Lafayette at Lehigh Game Notes

THE MATCHUP
The Leopards will stay on the road to take on Lehigh, which comes into the contest at 10-8 (5-2 PL), for the eighth Patriot League game of the season. The Mountain Hawks are led by senior guard Evan Taylor, who is averaging 14.9 points per game. Lehigh looks to keep its five-game winning streak alive, most recently beating Loyola Md. (74-70), American (78-62), Holy Cross (76-58) and Navy (78-73). The Maroon and White aim to keep a win streak of their own alive, after defeating American, Bucknell, Navy and Holy Cross in the last four contests.

LAST MEETING
The last meeting between these two teams took place in Easton, Pa. on Feb. 26, 2022. The Leopards fell to Lehigh 78-58 with Leo O'Boyle netting a team-high nine points on senior day.

FOUR IN A ROW
The Leopards have won four games in a row for the first time since the shortened 2020-21 season. The Maroon and White captured victories over American (70-59), Holy Cross (62-48) Bucknell (74-67), and Navy (59-50). Senior Leo O'Boyle has led the Leopards by averaging 15.7 points per game over that span.

THE BIG THREE
The Leopards have three players averaging double figures in Leo O'Boyle (12.5), Kyle Jenkins (11.0), and CJ Fulton (11.0). The trio has accounted for more than half of the Maroon and White's points this season.

FINDING THE FRESHMAN
Freshman forward Josh Rivera netted a career-high 27 points at American on Jan. 18. 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 473 games against current Patriot League members. In League play, Lafayette is 202-271 in the regular season and 23-28 in the Patriot League Tournament.

CASHING IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Senior forward Leo O'Boyle ranks first in the Patriot League in free-throw percentage at 91.7%. O'Boyle has netted 44 of his 48 free-throws attempted in 2022-23. He also ranks sixth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 43.9%.

DOMINATING DEFENSE
Lafayette has held three different opponents to 50 points or fewer this season. CCSU (50), Navy (50) and Holy Cross (48). The Leopards took home victories in all three of those games. The last time a Lafayette team held three or more opponents to 50 or fewer points was during the 2003 04 season.

1000 POINTS
Senior Leo O'Boyle is closing in on 1000 points as a Leopard. He will need to average at least 10.0 points per game over the final 12 contests to reach the century mark. O'Boyle currently averages 12.5 points per game.

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 three-time All-Ivy League selection, two-time Ivy League champion and Ivy League Player of the Year.

BLOCK PARTY
Junior forward Kyle Jenkins registered four blocks in an overtime win versus Bucknell on Jan. 8. That marked the second consecutive game that a Lafayette player recorded at least four blocks. At Boston University on Jan. 5 sophomore Justin Vander Baan recorded four blocks in a 73-69 overtime loss, and two blocks in a 62-48 victory over Holy Cross on Jan. 14. Jenkins managed two more blocks in the victory at Navy on Jan. 11.

SHUFFLING STARTERS
The Leopards have used 14 different starting lineups throughout this season. Mike Jordan and his staff have shuffled through nine different starters. 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 12 games. Senior day will be held on Feb. 11 against Boston U.

NEED SOME ASSISTANCE?
Sophomore guard CJ Fulton is second in the Patriot League in assists at 4.8 per game. In 20 games played, the Belfast, Ireland native has dished out 96 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 36.0 per game. Teammate Kyle Jenkins sits behind him in third with 33.6 minutes per game.

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.
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Players Mentioned

Jon Brantley

#2 Jon Brantley

G
6' 3"
Junior
CJ Fulton

#4 CJ Fulton

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Kyle Jenkins

#14 Kyle Jenkins

F
6' 7"
Junior
Leo O

#33 Leo O'Boyle

F
6' 7"
Senior
Justin Vander Baan

#15 Justin Vander Baan

C
7' 0"
Sophomore
TJ Berger

#20 TJ Berger

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
Josh Rivera

#55 Josh Rivera

F
6' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jon Brantley

#2 Jon Brantley

6' 3"
Junior
G
CJ Fulton

#4 CJ Fulton

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Kyle Jenkins

#14 Kyle Jenkins

6' 7"
Junior
F
Leo O

#33 Leo O'Boyle

6' 7"
Senior
F
Justin Vander Baan

#15 Justin Vander Baan

7' 0"
Sophomore
C
TJ Berger

#20 TJ Berger

6' 4"
Sophomore
G
Josh Rivera

#55 Josh Rivera

6' 7"
Freshman
F