OPENING TIP
The 2023-24 season continues for the Lafayette men's basketball program as the Leopards host Cornell to kick off the final month of non-conference play. The Leopards look to halt a Big Red three-game winning streak. Cornell most recently defeated Monmouth, Utah Valley and Cal. State Fullerton.

Last time out, Lafayette fell to Drexel, 69-48, on Nov. 29. Justin Vander Baan guided the Leopards with 13 points, four rebounds, one assist and a block. Drexel out-rebounded the Maroon and White 46-31 and added 38 points in the paint as the Dragons pulled away in the second half. Lafayette made a season-low six turnovers and forced 12 Drexel turnovers. The Dragons are now 4-3 overall, led by senior forward Amari Williams. He totaled 10 points and six rebounds on Wednesday. 

The Leopards return nine players from last season, most of whom saw significant game time in the 2022-23 winter season. Lafayette concluded 2022-23 with an 11-23 (7-11 PL) overall record and advanced to the Patriot League championship game.

Next up, Lafayette travels to Columbia on Dec. 5. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. The Lions are currently 6-2 overall after defeating Loyola Md., 69-57, on Nov. 29.

THE MATCHUP
Cornell finished the 2022-23 season with a 17-11 (7-7 IVY) overall record. The program made it to the conference semifinal game, falling to Yale, 80-60, on March 11 in Princeton, N.J. Greg Dolan earned second-team All-Ivy and NABC All-Region honors, while returning junior Nazir Williams was an honorable mention pick.

Cornell was predicted to finish third in the conference during the preseason poll, the highest preseason selection since being chosen third in the 2010-11 poll. The Big Red return four starters and 11 letterwinners from last season. The Big Red are now 6-1 overall and most recently defeated Monmouth in Ithaca, N.Y., 91-87, on Nov. 29. 

GEARING UP FOR MCGARVEY
Mike McGarvey took over as the 20th head coach in Lafayette men's basketball history on March 29, 2023, following a one-year tenure as the associate head coach and acting head coach. Last season, he led the Leopards to Patriot League Tournament victories over Lehigh in the quarterfinal round and American in the semifinal, before falling to Colgate in the championship game.

He arrived on College Hill after a four-year tenure as the men's basketball head coach at Lycoming College where he led the program to three-straight MAC Freedom Conference championship games, including two conference crowns. McGarvey guided the Warriors to a remarkable resurgence in his second year as head coach, taking the team from a 5-11 conference record in 2018-19 to a 10-6 mark in 2019-20 while managing a roster filled with a school-record 11 freshmen.

As a player, McGarvey was a finalist in 2006 for the Jostens Trophy. He was also a consensus two-time All-American and two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Year.

Ursinus retired McGarvey's No. 11 jersey on Dec 1, 2010, honoring a career where his teams won three conference championships. He started every game of his career, and finished fourth on the school's all-time scoring chart with 1,460 points and he is still 14th in the Division III record book with 754 career assists. McGarvey holds the Centennial Conference records for career assists and steals, and single-season assists and steals. He was inducted into both the Ursinus College Hall of Fame (2016) and the Sam Cozen Philadelphia Area Small College Hall of Fame (2015).

LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, Lafayette fell to Drexel, 69-48, on Nov. 29. Junior center Justin Vander Baan guided the Leopards with 13 points, four rebounds, one assist and a block. 

The Dragons are now 4-3 overall, led by senior forward Amari Williams. On the season, he averages 13.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists. 

Drexel shot 46.4 percent from the floor overall and went 18-for-31 from beyond the arc in the second half of Wednesday's contest. The Dragons held the Leopards to 30 percent overall from the floor as Lafayette made a season-low six turnovers and forced 12 Dragon turnovers.

STARTING FAST
The Leopards have already played six of eight non-conference road contests on the 2023-24 slate, leaving two remaining trips to Columbia and Richmond following today's homestand. Other non-conference programs traveling to Easton, Pa. this season are La Salle and Quinnipiac.

ONE B1G GRADUATE
Leo O'Boyle '23 entered the transfer portal following his spring undergraduate commencement date, landing on the 2023-24 Penn State University men's basketball roster as a graduate student. He looks to aid a Nittany Lion program which reached the NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 2011.

During his final tour at Lafayette, he led the team in scoring with 384 points (an 11.6 ppg. average) as a co-captain. The Scranton, Pa. native netted 23 points versus American in the Patriot League championship semifinal round to reach 1,000 career points, only the 48th Leopard to do so. He left College Hill with a grand total of 1,027 points, 147 assists, 309 rebounds, 71 steals and 20 blocks.

INJURY REPORT
Junior guard TJ Berger will miss the 2023-24 season due to an injury sustained in preseason practice. 

THE PORTAL
One student-athlete made his way to College Hill after playing two seasons for Eastern Michigan. Luka Savicevic is a 6-3 junior point guard from Skopje, North Macedonia. At EMU, he totaled 83 points, 41 assists, 40 rebounds and 12 steals in two seasons and was named to the Academic All-MAC team following his final season with the Eagles. He was a member of the Senior and U18 Macedonia National teams, averaging 9.2 points, 2.9 assists and 2.0 rebounds in the North Macedonia Super League.

On the flipside, the Leopards will watch last year's Third Team All-Patriot League guard CJ Fulton play for the College of Charleston and second leading scorer Josh Rivera play for Fordham. 

FRESH MEAT
Lafayette brings five first-year student-athletes aboard this season in Mark Butler, Joshua Wyche, Luke Rasmussen, Mike Bednostin and Andrew Phillips. All incoming players have seen the court during multiple games so far.

Butler is a four-year varsity point guard out of Philadelphia, Pa., who attended William Penn Charter School. The 5-10 incoming Leopard was given the Coaches Award as a freshman and tabbed Second Team All-Inter-AC as a sophomore. Butler has club experience for Philly Pride, under coach Brandon Williams in his home city where he was a 16u Under Armour Association champion as an eighth grader.

Wyche is a three-year varsity guard/forward from Philadelphia, Pa., who attended Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School. The 6-6 wing has club experience with the K-LOW Elite, under coach Kyle Sample in his home city.

Rasmussen, a 6-7 guard, is a Haverford, Pa. native who lists three years of basketball experience at the Hill School and the Haverford School. He earned the Don Ronnie Award and was the starting quarterback for two years. Rasmussen has club experience with both the East Coast Power in the UA Rise circuit and the PMT Warriors in the New Balance circuit.

Bednostin, who attended Trinity High School and Crestwood Prep, stands in as a 6-11 center from Dillsburg, Pa./Kyiv, Ukraine. He was a runner-up in the state finals at Crestwood and was a District 3A champion with Trinity High School. Bednostin has club experience with Grassroots Elite Canada under Ro Russell in Toronto, Ontario. Last summer he participated in the FIBA U20 European Championship for his home country of Ukraine.

Phillips is a 6-4 wing who hails from Downingtown, Pa. with three years of varsity experience at Malvern Prep. During senior year, Phillips averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game, which earned him Inter-AC MVP, First Team All-State and All-County laurels. 

THE RETURNERS
The program returns nine players from last season, most of whom saw significant game time in winter 2022-23. Kyle Jenkins will provide senior leadership for the Leopards, followed by juniors Justin Vander Baan and TJ Berger as a trio of captains.

BIG BLOCKER
Junior center Justin Vander Baan blocked 31 shots (a 1.1 average per game) last season, good for fifth in the conference. He has blocked 17 shots (a 2.12 average per game) this season. The Northbridge, Mass. native continues to sit atop the Patriot League leaderboard and ranks 18th in the country for his stops. As a program, Lafayette currently ranks first in the conference in blocks per game with 4.4.

THAT'S MINE, THANKS
Lafayette ranks fourth in the league for steals per game with 7.4. The Leopards have made 59 steals total in 2023-24 through the first eight games. Guard Mark Butler currently lists a conference second-best 15 steals in his rookie campaign.

MAJOR MINUTES
Senior forward Kyle Jenkins amassed 1,116 minutes through 34 games in 2022-23, leading the program with 32.8 per game. He ranked sixth in the Patriot League for that statistic. This season, the co-captain sits at fifth in the conference with 30:55 minutes per game while starting in all eight contests.

SAME STARTERS
Lafayette has used the same starting lineup for the first eight contests of the season: guards Devin Hines, Eric Sondberg and Mark Butler, forward Kyle Jenkins and center Justin Vander Baan.