PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Men's basketball opened the 2025-26 season with an 85-76 loss to St. Joseph's on Monday evening in Hagan Arena.

Lafayette had four players in double figures, commanded by Andrew Phillips' 17 points, five rebounds and two steals, and totaled 45 percent from the floor on 64 shots.

Shareef Jackson (16), Caleb Williams (15) and Mark Butler (10) rounded out the double-digit scorer side. Jackson, a Philadelphia native, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while Butler dished a team-high four assists.

Phillips kicked off the Leopards first-half scoring drive with a pair of 3-pointers, taking an 8-4 lead in just two minutes.

The hosts stormed back in an 18-4 stretch to the 12-minute mark, leading 22-12. The Hawks' Jaiden Glover-Toscano posted nine points in his program's largest lead of the game.

Butler and freshman Luke Bevilacqua contributed four points apiece in even play by 6:30, trailing by 10, 35-25.

Lafayette's Jackson added four points to stay within a 10-point range, 41-31, at the halftime buzzer to fight off the Hawks' trio of scorers, who had two points each.

Sophomore guard Caleb Williams ripped a shot from beyond the arc to begin the second period, inspiring a 20-11 Leopard run to the 14-minute mark. The spurt got Lafayette as close as one, 52-51, and was propelled by Phillips, Jackson and Christian Humphrey's barrage of an evenly-shared 15 points. The Maroon and White nailed 7-of-13 from the floor in the six minutes of effort.

St. Joseph's then fought off the advance using all seven of their free throw opportunities by 5:52, holding a 68-62 lead.

Jackson continued to pepper the rim to keep Lafayette near six, 76-70, at the two-minute mark.

The Hawks' final 7-6 edge ended with a deep dagger by Dasear Haskins to clear the 80-point milestone, going ahead by nine, 83-74, with 30 seconds on the clock. Phillips netted a jumper to close out the contest, 85-76.

The Hawks shot 45.5 percent from the field on 66 attempts as both teams recorded six 3-point buckets.

Glover-Toscano led the opponents with 23 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the field. He totaled 5-for-6 at the charity stripe as part of St. Joseph's overall 86.4 percent outing on 22 tries.

The Maroon and White shot 12-of-23 from the line. 

The Leopards open a new season in Kirby Sports Center on Wednesday with Dickinson. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on the newly refurbished hardwood.
 
 
For the latest on the Lafayette College men's basketball program, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteMBB and Instagram @lafayettembb.