OPENING TIP
Lafayette heads north to the other Easton in order to play Stonehill for the second time in program history. The Leopards look to take their first road win of the season against a team who has not had a home game yet this season.

Last time out, the Maroon and White dropped a Monday evening matchup with West Virginia, 81-59. Andrew Phillips paced the Leopards with 19 points, knocking down 7-of-15 from the floor and adding three 3-pointers.

The Leopards host a total of six non-conference games while traveling to seven opponents before Patriot League play begins on Dec. 31. Colgate is the first league opponent to travel to College Hill for a 3 p.m. tip-off that afternoon.
 
The Leopards return eight players from last season, four of whom saw significant game time. Lafayette concluded 2024-25 with a 13-20 (7-11 PL) overall record, advancing to the Patriot League Tournament's quarterfinal for the second year in a row. The Maroon and White lost five players to graduation and one player to the transfer portal. 

Next up, Lafayette will host the second-annual Lafayette Classic in Kirby Sports Center from Nov. 28-30 with Le Moyne, Ball State and Monmouth. All six games will air live on ESPN+ during the holiday weekend.

THE MATCHUP
Stonehill finished the 2024-25 regular season at 15-17 (7-9 NEC) with the Skyhawks competing in the first round of the NEC Tournament, falling to FDU, 71-56. The program spent the previous three seasons reclassifying for Division I status, finally receiving full membership this winter. Two athletes are currently averaging in double figures for points: Hermann Koffi (18.0) and William Batchelder (10.3). Koffi is second amongst NEC leaders in overall scoring. Stonehill was picked third in the preseason coaches poll released on Oct. 27.

Head coach Chris Kraus is the first alumnus to direct the Skyhawks and is the first Canadian-born coach to take the helm of an NCAA men's basketball program. In his time at Stonehill as a student-athlete, assistant coach and now the third-longest tenured head coach in program history, Kraus has played a role in 26.5 percent (527 of 1,989 games) of the program's contests as it enters its 77th Anniversary season in 2025-26.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Men's basketball lost to West Virginia, 81-59, on Monday evening in Hope Coliseum. Caleb Williams finished in double figures (16) for the fifth-straight game, securing five rebounds and four assists on the stat sheet. The Mountaineers' DJ Thomas and Honor Huff led the opponents with 25 and 24 points, respectively, as West Virginia reached 50 percent on 58 shots from the floor.

PRESEASON POLL
Lafayette was selected to finish seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll with 36 votes. Navy captured the top spot (79 points, seven first-place votes), followed by Boston U. (73, 2), Colgate (64, 1), American (47), Bucknell (44), Loyola Maryland (39), Lehigh (30), Holy Cross (23) and Army (15).

WINNING AT THE GET-GO
The Leopards are 1-3 when winning the opening tip, but have an 0-1 record without the first possession. Six-foot-nine freshman Christian Humphrey-Rembert is credited with the reaches at center court.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Caleb Williams is in the top seven in the Patriot League in 10 categories: field goal attempts (3rd, 61), field goals (6th, 27), free throw percentage (3rd, 90.0), free throws (7th, 18), points (2nd, 86), points per game (1st, 17.2), three point attempts (1st, 33),  three point percentage (5th, 42.4), three pointers per game (4th, 2.8) and total 3-point FGM (4th, 14).

BUTLER KEEPS IT NEAT
Junior Mark Butler is second in the Patriot League for his 3.0 assist/turnover ratio. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, has dished 18 assists and kept to six turnovers through five games in 2025-26. In the conference, he is seventh for his total dimes, third for his 31:42 minutes per game and 10th for his seven steals.

THAT EASTON CHARM
After Friday's game at Stonehill, Lafayette will host the second-annual Lafayette Classic, a multi-team event at Kirby Sports Center, over the 2025 Thanksgiving weekend. Le Moyne, Ball State and Monmouth will travel to College Hill as participants. The four teams will play a round-robin formatted schedule with doubleheaders starting the evening of Friday, Nov. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 30. All six games will be aired live on ESPN+.

INJURY REPORT
Freshman Beckett Currie suffered a broken left scaphoid during preseason preparations and had season-ending surgery to repair the injury. Joshua Wyche is indefinitely sidelined from a recurring injury. Misha Bednostin missed the West Virginia game due to illness.

FRESH MEAT
Ashton Wallace, Beckett Currie, Christian Humphrey-Rembert, Luke Azzinaro, Luke Bevilacuqa and Shareef Jackson are set to enter the squad directly out of high school. KaiMani Murdock makes his way to the Leopard locker room following one year at Denmark Technical College. Each of these athletes has seen court time with the exception of Currie. 

"I am excited to welcome a great group of young men to College Hill," head coach Mike McGarvey said. "Our newcomers bring strong values with them that will help make a positive impact on the court, in the classroom and within the community."

NIGERIAN PRIDE
On July 30, Folabomi Fayemi was named to Nigeria's 17-man provisional roster for the senior men's national team, D'Tigers, ahead of the 2025 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) AfroBasket tournament. The Houston, Texas native practiced in a week-long training camp and had two friendly games leading up to the showdown in Luanda, Angola from Aug. 12-24. The D'Tigers were in Group B alongside Madagascar, defending champions Tunisia and Cameroon. The sophomore guard is studying Economics on College Hill and played in 11 games as a rookie.

A TRUSTWORTHY DUO
Ryan Pettit is providing senior leadership for the Leopards in his second consecutive year as a captain, aided by junior Mark Butler. 

CONTINUED ACADEMIC PROWESS
Lafayette's athletic programs stood out among the nation's best on Nov. 19 in the NCAA's Division I graduation success rate (GSR) release. Lafayette boasted a third-best overall mark (97 percent) based on the 19 sports measured while 16 of the Leopards' teams achieved a graduation success rate of 100 percent, including men's basketball. As a conference, the Patriot League recorded a 94 – above the national average of 90. Institutionally, Colgate stood out at 98, followed by Lafayette, Boston U., Bucknell and Holy Cross (97). Lehigh and Loyola Maryland trailed them (96) with Navy (94), American (93) and Army (91) rounding out the group. Lafayette was in a group of 25 schools, including Brown, Dartmouth and Stanford, which featured a score of 97.

FRESH FLOORING
Kirby Sports Center, the Leopards' home arena, has seen major upgrades over the past year. During the summer, the court was completely overhauled and redesigned. It now features a prominent Leopard head logo as well as a maroon Leopard print border. 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. 

HOMEWARD BOUND
On Aug. 26, EJ Stephens '21 was announced as the Director of Basketball Operations for 2025-26. Stephens competed in over 103 contests while wearing the Maroon and White, totaling 1,017 points, 307 rebounds and 175 assists in his career. Following his senior season as a co-captain, he earned Second Team All-Patriot League laurels, a NABC All-District 13 Second Team nod and three Lafayette Dean's List awards. The Psychology major was also chosen as the Oaks Leadership "Leader of Distinction." To this day, Stephens ranks 11th in the conference for his 90.4 free throw percentage. 

This past summer, he was a part of the 2025 NBL1 roster for the Newcastle Falcons alongside O'Boyle and Myles Cherry '20. The 6'3 guard was a dynamic scorer who used his graduate year at Minnesota. The Plantation, Fla. native spent the 2023-24 pro season with the Cheshire Phoenix in England's SLB (formerly BBL).

ALUMNI IN THE PROS
On July 1, recent graduate and the 2024-25 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Justin Vander Baan '25 was named to the Boras Basket program in Sweden's SBL Herr league. He earned a Player of the Match accolade on Oct. 24 for his efforts in a 118-83 win over competitor Jamtland. With Lafayette last January, he led the country in blocks per game (3.14) and ranked seventh for total blocks (44).

Former Leopard captain and 1,000-point scorer Leo O'Boyle '23 is currently playing in the Belgian and Dutch BNXT League with the LWD Basket Leeuwarden for the 2025-26 season. On Oct. 12, he put up 28 points, featuring six 3's, against foe Heroes Den Bosch. O'Boyle previously re-signed with the Newcastle Falcons for summer 2025 after averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game last year in Australia. The Scranton, Pa. native also played his graduate season for Penn State and had a stint in Pully-Lausanne, Switzerland. On Jan. 15, he scored a globe-high 41 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Foxes in a 106-98 loss in the Swiss League.

AN EARLY LOOK (EXHIBITION)
Lafayette played an exhibition game against Drexel on Oct. 28 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.  The hosts earned the final decision, 73-65. Williams (14) and Jackson (12) also aided in the offensive scoring effort. Butler netted a team-high 5-of-6 free throws and had a game-high four steals. Lafayette shot 36.4 percent from the floor (20-of-55) and 3-point range (8-of-22) overall and 53 percent from the line (17-of-32). Out of the freshman class, Humphrey, Jackson and Bevilacqua all saw court time. Kai Murdock, a sophomore transfer, made his Leopard debut with three points and a steal in eight minutes.

LAFAYETTE ON ESPN+
A reminder that the Patriot League is paired with ESPN and you will be able to find all Lafayette home games on ESPN+ with the same high quality broadcast you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Visit plus.espn.com now to check out the bundles including live sports and originals. Select games will be televised on CBS Sports Network and announced later in the season.

SEASON THREE AT THE HELM
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 (five games). 

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. In 2023-24, Lafayette finished in second place in the Patriot League regular season. In the next year, the program improved it's win total for the third straight season.

2024-25 HARDWARE
Caleb Williams secured an All-Rookie accolades as he competed in all 34 games with 26 starts. He was one of three Leopards to finish the season averaging in double figures with 11.2. Lafayette has had at least one player on the Patriot League All-Rookie squad since 2019. Williams continued the streak as Mark Butler (2023-24), Josh Rivera (2022-23), CJ Fulton (2021-22) and Leo O'Boyle (2019-20) were all past Leopard honorees.