OPENING TIP
The No. 3 Leopards host No. 6 Lehigh for the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament. In the last conference tournament, Lafayette earned a 71-64 victory on March 2 in the quarterfinal round. Lehigh won both of this season's meetings.

Four Leopards earned postseason All-Patriot League laurels on Monday. Devin Hines, Kyle Jenkins and Justin Vander Baan were named to the All-Patriot League Third Team while Mark Butler took home All-Rookie honors. Vander Baan was tabbed to the All-Defensive squad. 

Last time out, the Leopards closed out the 2023-24 regular season with a 60-50 loss at Bucknell on March 2 at Sojka Pavilion. Seniors Kyle Jenkins and Eric Sondberg totaled 12 points each to lead the offensive effort. 

Previously in the series, the Maroon and White fell to Lehigh, 71-63, on Feb. 24 in Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette's top performance came through Luka Savicevic, who posted 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Justin Vander Baan (11) and Eric Sondberg (10) also scored in double figures.

Lafayette concluded 2022-23 with an 11-23 (7-11 PL) overall record and advanced to the Patriot League championship game. With a victory this evening, Lafayette would advance to the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament, played on Sunday, March 10 and televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, against the victor of the No. 2 Boston U. versus No. 7 Navy matchup. 

THE MATCHUP
Brett Reed is in his 17th season at the helm of the program. Lehigh, shooting 44 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from beyond the arc, returns many contributors from the previous  squad, most notably Preseason All-League selections Keith Higgins Jr. and Tyler Whitney-Sidney. The pair averaged 13.3 ppg. and 15.1 ppg. this regular season, respectively.

The Mountain Hawks earned a first-round bye and the No. 6 seed following the conclusion of a 12-17 (9-9 PL) overall record for 2023-24. Lehigh gathered two All-Patriot League selections as announced on Monday afternoon. Whitney-Sidney was named to the first team while senior Dominic Parolin earned third team honors. Parolin was also listed to the five-member Academic All-Conference team on Wednesday afternoon.

POST-SEASON ACCOLADES
Devin Hines, Mark Butler, Kyle Jenkins and Justin Vander Baan earned recognition from the Patriot League on Monday afternoon, 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 to the All-Defensive squad.

Lafayette has had at least one player on the Patriot League All-Rookie squad since 2019. Freshman guard 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 7.3 points, 3.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds this season. 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 have used the same starting lineup for 28 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 499 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 213-286 in the regular season and 25-30 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 2.16 per game). The Northbridge, Mass. native continues to sit atop the Patriot League leaderboard and ranks 12th in the country for his 67 stops.

As a program, Lafayette currently ranks first in the conference in blocks per game with 4.3. 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 third in the conference with 66 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.

WE MARCH ON
Lafayette is 25-30 all-time in Patriot League Tournament matches, including a 12-4 home record. The Maroon and White are 7-15 in away games, 6-11 in neutral site contests and 2-3 in overtime. The 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2014-15 seasons are all championship men's basketball teams, beloved on College Hill.

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 a 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.