OPENING TIP
The Mike McGarvey Era continues for the Lafayette men's basketball program as the Leopards hit the road to take on Cornell, which has a new head coach since last year's NIT appearance.   

Last time out, Lafayette secured its first victory of the season, 65-63, against Penn in the home opener. With two starters unavailable due to injury, freshman guard Caleb Williams led the way with 17 points. The Leopards led the Quakers for over 28 minutes and shot 37.5 percent from the floor with an added seven 3-pointers.

Five seniors are rostered for the Maroon and White in Devin Hines, TJ Berger, Justin Vander Baan, Chris Rubayo and Luka Savicevic. Hines and Vander Baan led the team in scoring last year with 9.8 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. The Leopards return 10 players, most of whom saw significant playing time. Lafayette concluded 2023-24 with an 11-21 (10-8 PL) overall record, advancing to the Patriot League Tournament's quarterfinal round.

The Leopards host six non-conference games while traveling to seven opponents before Patriot League play begins in the new year. Boston U. will make the journey to Easton, Pa. on Jan. 2 to open the conference slate.

Next up, the Leopards continue on the road at Rhode Island on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

THE MATCHUP
Cornell is currently 2-1 under first-year head coach Jon Jaques, who was a starter and senior captain for on the 2009-10 Big Red squad that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Big Red was picked fourth in the Ivy League preseason poll after leading the conference in scoring offense, assists , steals and effective field-goal percentage for the past two years. Cornell posted a 22-8 overall record, finishing tied for second in league play at 11-3, in 2023-24. The program returns two starters and eight letterwinners, led by sophomore guard Jake Fiegen's 13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.0 apg.

LAST TIME OUT
Mark Butler and Alex Chaikin followed up Caleb William's team-leading 17 points as the remaining two Leopards in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the victory against Penn. The Quakers' Sam Brown put up a 3-pointer and later added two free throws with 22 seconds on the clock in the second half to tie the game at 63 apiece. Lafayette head coach Mike McGarvey drew up one final play in which Butler drew contact on a layup and sunk both game-winning free throws with two seconds left for a 65-63 final. Penn shot 37.5 percent from the field and made 14-of-24 from the charity stripe. Ethan Roberts led four opponents in double figures with 14 points and seven assists.

PASS THE ROCK
Lafayette is currently second in the Patriot League for its 1.64 assist/turnover ratio and first for its 15.3 assists per game. Two Leopards (Misha Bednostin and Mark Butler) total a season-high seven dimes.

TOTALLY BOARD
Misha Bednostin, a sophomore center, collected a team and career-high 15 rebounds against Penn. The last time a Lafayette player grabbed 15+ boards was in 2018. Myles Cherry earned the accolade with 17 against Cornell.

WELCOME TO EASTON
Lafayette will host a six-game multi-team event (MTE) at Kirby Sports Center over the 2024 Thanksgiving weekend. Niagara, Long Island and Binghamton will travel to College Hill as participants in the inaugural Lafayette Classic. The four teams will play a round-robin format schedule with doubleheaders starting the evening of Friday, Nov. 29 through Sunday, Dec. 1. 

POST-SEASON ACCOLADES
Devin Hines, Mark Butler, Kyle Jenkins and Justin Vander Baan earned recognition from the Patriot League on March 4, as the 2023-24 men's basketball post-season honors were announced. Hines, Jenkins and Vander Baan were named to the All-Patriot League Third Team while Butler took home All-Rookie honors. Vander Baan was listed on the All-Defensive squad.

Lafayette has had at least one player on the Patriot League All-Rookie squad since 2019. Butler continued that streak and earned All-Rookie Team status after totaling 225 points and starting in every game of his initial Leopard campaign. He averaged 7.4 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Josh Rivera (2022-23), CJ Fulton (2021-22) and Leo O'Boyle (2019-20) are all past Leopard honorees.

SAME STARTERS
The Maroon and White used the same starting lineup for 29 contests last season. Sophomore guard Mark Butler is set to return to the court for the second year in a row. Junior Ryan Pettit, a current co-captain, looks to add to his career starts in 2024-25.

EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMICS
Lafayette's athletic programs stood out among the nation's best last fall 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.

On July 18, Luka Savicevic and Justin Vander Baan were named to the 2023-24 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court. The men's hoops program was crowned a Team of Academic Excellence for completing the year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. 

RECENT RENOVATIONS
Kirby Sports Center, the Leopards' home arena, has seen major upgrades over the past year. A state-of-the art Daktronics control and video display system can now be seen above center court, showcasing 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. Lafayette fans may order birthday video board messages for display during the remaining home basketball games at tinyurl.com/yslx5esh.

THE RETURNERS
The program returns 10 players from last season, most of whom saw significant game time in winter 2023-24. TJ Berger and Justin Vander Baan will provide senior leadership for the Leopards, followed by junior Ryan Pettit, as a trio of captains.

SEASON TWO
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. In 2022-23, 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 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 in which 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).

FRESH MEAT
Lafayette brings four first-year student-athletes aboard this season in Caleb Williams, Folabomi Fayemi, Alex Chaikin and Malik Rasul. Quotes about each student-athlete provided by head coach McGarvey.

Caleb Williams | G | 6-0 | 165 | Jacksonville, Fla. | Jean Ribault
Williams was a four-year varsity starter experience in high school, posting a 23.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game average. He holds the Jean Ribault High School career record for scoring over 1,500 points and doling out 600 assists and is a two-time Northeast Florida Boys Basketball Player of the Year, a three-time Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) All-State selection, a three-time FACCA Class 4A District 5 Player of the Year, and a three-time All-Gateway Conference Team honoree. "Caleb is a dynamic playmaker. Not only does he bring an array of talent, but he also has great confidence and determination to lead and win."

Alex Chaikin | G | 6-5 | 170 | Williamsburg, Va. | Trinity Episcopal
Chaikin comes to College Hill after four years at Trinity Episcopal, averaging 22 points, six rebounds and two assists per game in his senior season, where he was named an All-Prep League Team, a VISSA Division 1 All-State and an 804 All-Star Game selection. The senior captain set both the school's single-season record for 3-pointers made (108) and the career record for shots from beyond the arc (231) as the eighth all-time leading scorer. "A true shot maker from all over the court! As one of the best 3-point shooters with unlimited range from the state of Virginia, Alex's size for a guard in addition to his shot-making ability classifies him as an exciting addition to the Leopards."

Folabomi Fayemi | G | 6-4 | 205 | Chicago, Ill. | Culver Military Academy/South Kent
Fayemi played two years of basketball at Culver before competing for South Kent prior to Lafayette. At Culver, he averaged 12 points, six rebounds and three assists per game as an IHSAA Sectional Champion. He was crowned the Academy Defensive Player of the Year and an Academic All-State honoree in 2022-23 while performing as an Officer in the Corps of Cadets. "Folabomi was coached by Leopard alumni Raphael Chillious '96 at the extremely successful South Kent School last season. He brings an unprecedented physical presence and athleticism to our team."

Malik Rasul | F | 6-7 | 200 | Tucson, Ariz. | Westtown School
Rasul, averaging a double-double each year, has been a starter for Westtown for three seasons. The wing helped the Moose compete in the Friends School League semifinals. Rasul was selected to play in the 520 Exclusive Showcase in 2020 and has club experience with Strive For Greatness under coach Ed in Los Angeles, Calif. as well as WeR1 under coach Ron Martin in Wilmington, Del. "Malik is a versatile forward that has the ability to impact play on both ends of the court. Additionally, he has an infectious positive spirit that we look forward to welcoming in our locker room."

BIG BLOCKERS
Senior center Justin Vander Baan blocked 69 shots (2.2 per game) last season, good for 25th in the country. The Northbridge, Mass. native sat atop the Patriot League leader board with classmate Chris Rubayo just eight places beneath him (30 blocks, 0.94 bpg). As a program, Lafayette finished first in the conference in blocks per game at 4.3 in 2023-24.

In just two years wearing the Maroon and White, Vander Baan has quickly climbed the program ranks for career blocks. He is currently fifth with 108 stops.

HISTORY MATCHED
 The 70-44 win at Loyola Md. on Jan. 24, 2024 pushed the Leopards to a program record-tying 7-0 conference start for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Lafayette shot 55.6 percent from long distance on 18 attempts in the season-high 26 point margin of victory.

'PARDS WERE ROLLING
Mark Butler led four Leopards in double figures to help Lafayette quiet Colgate, 69-64, on Jan. 10, 2024. He shot a team-high 14 points while Justin Vander Baan added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Ryan Pettit cleaned up with 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.