OPENING TIP
Lafayette travels to Bucknell tonight as each program closes out the 2023-24 regular season. 

Last time out, the Leopards erased a 12-point second-half deficit, but could not quite complete a comeback on Wednesday night as Navy held on for a 62-58 final inside Alumni Hall. Four Leopards finished in double figures led by Kyle Jenkins with 15 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. 

Previously in the series, the Maroon and White outlasted Bucknell in overtime, 75-72, on Jan. 20 in Kirby Sports Center, earning a 6-0 record in the Patriot League slate for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Top performances came through Mark Butler and Kyle Jenkins, posting 16 and 15 points, respectively. Butler dished out six assists while Jenkins stood tall under the basket, collecting eight rebounds to go with three steals.

The 2024 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship will begin with first round games on Tuesday, March 5 and quarterfinals on Thursday, March 7. Each game in the first two rounds will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

Lafayette has clinched a top-six seed and a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament.

THE MATCHUP
Bucknell finished the 2022-23 season with a 12-20 (5-13 PL) overall record, coming up short against American, 64-59, on Feb. 28, 2023 in the Patriot League Tournament's First Round. John Griffin III is in his first season at the helm of his alma mater as the program was selected to finish ninth in the conference during the preseason poll. 

Senior guard Jack Forrest commands the Bison, averaging 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Bucknell is currently shooting 43.0 percent from the floor and 34.5 from beyond the arc overall. Similar to the Leopards, the Bison have already clinched a first-round bye and a top-six seed.

SAME STARTERS
The Maroon and White have used the same starting lineup for 27 contests this season: guards Devin Hines, Eric Sondberg and Mark Butler, forward Kyle Jenkins and center Justin Vander Baan. The identical trio of change-ups appeared against Richmond (Dec. 30), Bucknell (Jan. 20) and Loyola Md. (Jan. 24) with Ryan Pettit in for Hines at guard.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 498 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 213-285 in the regular season and 25-29 in the Patriot League Tournament.

1K FOR KJ
Senior forward Kyle Jenkins collected his 1,000th point as a Leopard against Colgate on Feb. 19. At 2:13 in the second half, he made a layup in traffic to hit the milestone. The Higganum, Conn. native is the 49th Leopard to reach the grand plateau at Lafayette.

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 2.23 per game). The Northbridge, Mass. native continues to sit atop the Patriot League leaderboard and ranks eighth in the country for his 67 stops.

As a program, Lafayette currently ranks first in the conference in blocks per game with 4.4. In just two years wearing the Maroon and White, Vander Baan has quickly climbed the program ranks for career blocks. He is sixth with 104 stops.

SONDBERG FROM DEEP
Senior guard Eric Sondberg is ranked fourth in the conference with 62 total 3-point field goals. The Davidsonville, Md. native recorded a season-high six 3-pointers on Dec. 5 at Columbia on 13 attempts.

IT WOULD BE OUR HONOR 
Lafayette College has been chosen by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host the 2024 vice presidential debate on Sept. 25, the first time the College has been chosen as the site for this tradition in American politics. 

The debate will be held inside Kirby Sports Center while being broadcast live across the U.S. and worldwide. It promises to be an educational opportunity for Lafayette students and the wider community to engage in America's democratic process. Additional details, such as new planning committees and a map of campus closures can be found on the newly released debate website: debate.lafayette.edu.

VICTORY LAP
The 1998-99 Patriot League championship team returned to Kirby Sports Center on Saturday for its 25-year reunion. The Leopards finished as regular-season victors with a 22-8 (10-2 PL) record. Lafayette collected a 73-71 semifinal win against No. 4 Colgate before defeating No. 3 Bucknell in the tournament's title match, 67-63, at home. The triumph on March 5, 1999 earned the Maroon and White its first NCAA Tournament berth, facing No. 2 Miami (Fla.) at the Fleet Center in Boston, Mass. 

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 Jan. 15. 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. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native picked up his second-straight collegiate award on Monday after averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds to help the Leopards improve to 6-0 in League play.

HISTORY MATCHED
The 70-44 win at Loyola Md. on Jan. 24 pushed the Leopards to a program record-tying 7-0 conference start for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

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. Lafayette fans may order birthday video board messages for display during the remaining home basketball games at tinyurl.com/yslx5esh.

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 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. 

LEOPARDS CALLED GAME
Ryan Pettit hit a crucial 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining during the Jan. 17 contest at Holy Cross to keep a late advantage that allowed Lafayette its fifth-straight Patriot League victory. The sophomore guard connected on four-of-six from the field, including 3-of-4 from long distance, to go with five rebounds off of the bench.

On Jan. 20 against Bucknell, Lafayette had possession of the ball and was down by three, 64-61, with eight seconds left in regulation. Head coach Mike McGarvey called a timeout to draft one final regulation play, which was a perfectly executed 3-pointer by senior guard Eric Sondberg. The three-ball from Sondberg near the Leopards' bench tied the game at 64-64 with four seconds left for an eventual overtime victory.

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 and was named to the Academic All-MAC team following his last season with the Eagles. Savicevic scored a career-high 14 points at American on Feb. 17 this season. 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 20 points came in double overtime at Lehigh on Jan. 10. 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.