OPENING TIP
 Lafayette remains undefeated through the first four games of the Patriot League slate for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The 2023-24 squad has recorded wins against Army, Boston U., Colgate and Navy in January. Justin Vander Baan and Mark Butler collected their first collegiate weekly laurels on Jan. 15.

 Last time out, the Leopards pushed past Navy, 78-62, on Jan. 13 to maintain a perfect conference slate. The team shot a season-best 56.9 percent from the floor and sank eight shots from beyond the arc. Lafayette went 12-of-19 from the charity stripe with 26 points in the paint.

 In 2022-23, Lafayette completed a season sweep of the Crusaders, posting victories on Jan. 14, 62-48, and Feb. 6, 72-58. Justin Vander Baan, a Northbridge, Mass. native, tallied his first collegiate double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists during the second game.

 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 hosts Bucknell on Jan. 20 for a 2 p.m. tip-off inside Kirby Sports Center.

THE MATCHUP
Holy Cross finished the 2022-23 season with a 10-22 (7-11 PL) overall record, unable to contain Loyola Md. in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament on Feb. 28, 73-69.

The Crusaders return four starters and nine letterwinners off last year's squad, in addition to adding six freshmen to the roster. Joe Octave leads the team, averaging 15.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. From the floor, Holy Cross shoots 43.3 percent on the season.

Dave Paulsen is in his first season at the helm as the program was selected to finish fourth in the conference during the preseason poll. He spent seven years as a head coach at Bucknell, leaving the program with a 134-94 (.588) overall record.

LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette (4-0 PL) continues to sit atop the league standings after defeating Navy, 78-62, on Saturday. Four Leopards ended in double figures for the second game in a row, Junior center Justin Vander Baan was Lafayette's main option, securing 19 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. The Northbridge, Mass. native also blocked a career-high six shots.

Guard Devin Hines followed his classmate with 18 points and six rebounds while Mark Butler (15) and Eric Sondberg (13) closed out the group. Lafayette held the Mids to 34.3 percent from the field on 67 attempts. The Maroon and White out-rebounded Navy, 37-34, but gave up a 15-5 margin on the offensive glass. 

A DYNAMIC DUO
Justin Vander Baan and Mark Butler were named the Patriot League Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Vander Baan averaged 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots in the two-game stretch while Butler averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the week.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 487 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 207-279 in the regular season and 25-29 in the Patriot League Tournament.

SAME STARTERS
The Maroon and White have used the same starting lineup for 16 contests this season: guards Devin Hines, Eric Sondberg and Mark Butler, forward Kyle Jenkins and center Justin Vander Baan. The lone change-up appeared against Richmond on Dec. 30, 2023 with Ryan Pettit in for Hines at guard.

BIG BLOCKER
Junior center Justin Vander Baan blocked 31 shots (1.1 per game) last season, good for fifth in the conference. He has already surpassed his season block total from 2022-23 this winter (averaging 2.71 per game). The Northbridge, Mass. native continues to sit atop the Patriot League leaderboard and ranks sixth in the country for his 46 stops. As a program, Lafayette currently ranks first in the conference in blocks per game with 4.7.

SONDBERG FROM DEEP
Senior guard Eric Sondberg is ranked fifth in the conference for his total 3-point FGM (36). The Davidsonville, Md. native recorded a season-high six 3-point field goals on Dec. 5 at Columbia on 13 attempts.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
Mark Butler led four Leopards in double figures to help Lafayette quiet Colgate, 69-64, on Jan. 10. He shot a team-high 14 points while Justin Vander Baan added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore Ryan Pettit cleaned up with a career-high 12 points and delivered two crucial three-pointers in the second half. The Jan. 10 victory shut down the Raiders' six-game series streak and handed Colgate its first Patriot League loss on Cotterell Court since Jan. 3, 2021. 

EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMICS
Lafayette's athletic programs stood out among the nation's best on Dec. 6 in the NCAA's Division I annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) release. College Hill claimed a 98 percent GSR overall for the second straight year based on the 19 sports measured while 17 Leopard teams, including men's basketball, achieved a graduation success rate of 100 percent.


RECENT RENOVATIONS
Kirby Sports Center, the Leopards' home arena, has seen major upgrades over the past fall semester. A state-of-the art Daktronics control and video display system can now be seen above center court, showcasing exciting promotional team videos and updated branding to enhance the fan experience. By featuring Daktronics' latest version of Show and Venus Control Suite, it allows Lafayette to expand on in-game presentations.

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.

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. While starting in all games of his rookie campaign, he has the highest scoring average out of all the Lafayette underclassmen. His career-high 15 points came against Columbia on Dec. 5 and versus Navy on Jan. 13. 

Wyche is a three-year varsity guard/forward from Philadelphia, Pa., who attended Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School. He has seen consistent second-half minutes against each opponent.

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 averages over 15 minutes per game, most notably 27 at Columbia, this season.

Bednostin, who attended Trinity High School and Crestwood Prep, stands in as a 6-11 center from Dillsburg, Pa./Kyiv, Ukraine. He tallied his first collegiate points in the home-opening victory versus Wilkes on Nov. 19.

Phillips is a 6-4 wing who hails from Downingtown, Pa. with three years of varsity experience at Malvern Prep. He posted a career-high eight points and added three steals in 10 minutes of play at Richmond on Dec. 30.

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 made his first start for the Nittany Lions on Dec. 2 at Bucknell. 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.

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.