Skip To Main Content

Lafayette College Athletics

MBB vs Boston U.

Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Welcomes Colgate for Final Home Contest

Lafayette vs. Colgate Game Notes

THE MATCHUP
The Leopards return home to take on Colgate for the second time this season. The Black Knights enter the contest at 21-8 (15-1 PL) on a four-game win streak, most recently earning victories over Holy Cross (96-73) and Army (93-86). Colgate is led by senior Tucker Richardson, who is averaging 14.1 points per game. The Raiders rank first in the Patriot League in scoring at 78.4 points per game.

LAST MEETING
Colgate captured the last meeting, 69-57 on Jan. 28 in Hamilton, N.Y. Freshman Josh Rivera led all scorers with 25 points. Rivera also managed 10 rebounds to record his first career double-double. Colgate shot 44 percent from the floor, paced by 15 points from Tucker Richardson. 

1,000 POINTS
Senior Leo O'Boyle is closing in on 1,000 points as a Leopard with 962 career points. He will need to average at least 12.6 points per game over the final three contests to reach the grand plateau. O'Boyle would become the 48th Leopard to score 1,000 career points at Lafayette.

FOUR IN A  ROW
In 2023, the Leopards 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 led the Leopards by averaging 15.7 points per game over that span. The win streak, which began on Jan. 11 at Navy, was snapped in a 61-49 loss at Lehigh on Jan 21.

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 16 games. Against Loyola Md. on Jan. 25, O'Boyle netted 18 points during a 62-46 Lafayette victory. He leads the Leopards in scoring at 11.4 points per game.

FINDING THE FRESHMAN
Freshman forward Josh Rivera netted a career-high 27 points at American on Jan. 18. On Jan 28. at Colgate, Rivera recorded his first career double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Against Army on Jan. 1, Rivera managed 16 points and six rebounds. During the second game of the season against St. John's, he scored a then career-high 17 points, secured five rebounds and managed two blocks. Rivera is averaging 12.4 points per game in conference play. 

He earned Patriot League Rookie of The Week honors on Jan. 30 after his performances against Colgate and Loyola Md. Against Lehigh on Feb. 4, Rivera almost recorded his second career double-double, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds. Against Holy Cross (Feb. 6), Rivera scored 25 points and grabbed five rebounds. At Loyola on Feb. 15, Rivera netted 19 points and hauled in nine rebounds. Rivera recorded his second career double-double last time out at Army, scoring 12 points and securing a career-high 13 rebounds.

SHOOTERS SHOOT
Lafayette ranks 15th in the country in three-point attempts per game at 26.9. Four different Leopards have attempted more than 100 shots from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard TJ Berger leads the Leopards with 172 three-point shot attempts. Senior Leo O'Boyle, (150) sophomore CJ Fulton (148) and junior Kyle Jenkins (101) round out the top four.    

SHUFFLING STARTERS
The Leopards have used 14 different starting lineups throughout this season. Mike Jordan and his staff have shuffled through nine different starters, but have used the same starting five now for 13 consecutive games. CJ Fulton is the only Leopard to start every game this season.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 482 games against current Patriot League members. In League play, Lafayette is 205-277 in the regular season and 23-28 in the Patriot League Tournament.

CASHING IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Senior forward Leo O'Boyle ranks second in the Patriot League in free-throw percentage at 85.5%. O'Boyle has netted 59 of his 69 free-throws attempted in 2022-23.

DOMINATING DEFENSE
Lafayette has held four different opponents to 50 points or fewer this season: CCSU (50), Navy (50), Holy Cross (48) and Loyola Md. (46). The Leopards took home victories in all four of those games. The last time a Lafayette team held four or more opponents to 50 or fewer points was during the 2003-04 season. The Leopards currently rank first in the Patriot League in scoring defense, allowing only 64.3 points per game.

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. He also managed three blocks against Lehigh. Jenkins managed two more blocks in the victory at Navy on Jan. 11. Freshman Josh Rivera registered four blocks against Loyola Md. on Jan. 15 and two more blocks out at Colgate.

The Leopards currently rank third in the Patriot League in blocked shots with 86 on the year and 2.97 blocked shots per game.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Leopards scored a season-high 90 points in their second victory of the season against La Salle on Dec. 21. 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 non-conference 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, for the second time this season during tonight's contest. 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.

NEED SOME ASSISTANCE?
Sophomore guard CJ Fulton is second in the Patriot League in assists at 5.1 per game. In 28 games, the Belfast, Ireland native has dished out 147 assists.

MAJOR MINUTES
CJ Fulton rarely comes off the floor, averaging a Patriot League best 36.5 minutes per game. 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 five steals. Teammate Kyle Jenkins sits behind him in seventh with 32.3 minutes per game.

KNOCKING DOWN THE THREE BALL
The Leopards are averaging 8.8 threes per game this season, ranking them first in the Patriot League. Leading the team in three-pointers made are senior Leo O'Boyle (60), sophomore CJ Fulton (57) and sophomore TJ Berger (50).

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
Lafayette has an entirely new coaching staff, including associate head coach Mike McGarvey. McGarvey's most recent coaching stop was spent at Lycoming College as the head coach over the last four years, including three-straight MAC Conference Championship appearances and two conference crowns. McGarvey spent his college days playing at Ursinus where he was a finalist for the Jostens trophy, along with two-time All-American honors and two-time Centennial Conference Player of The Year. On Dec. 1, 2010, Ursinus retired McGarvey's No. 11 Jersey, honoring a career which included three championships. 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

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