OPENING TIP
Lafayette makes its way down south for the final two non-conference games of the season, starting with Charlotte. The squads have only met once before in 1996 with the 49ers taking the first series win at home.

Last time out, the Maroon and White took Penn to the wire in a 74-72 loss on Dec. 8 at the Palestra. Caleb Williams paced the Leopards with his second-consecutive game above 20 points (21) and third-consecutive game with at least four 3-pointers.

In total, Lafayette hosted six non-conference games, finishing with a 3-3 record in Kirby Sports Center. Patriot League play begins Dec. 31 against Colgate at 3 p.m. The last time conference play began before the new year came on Dec. 30, 2022 with the Leopards facing American in Easton.
 
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 travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Atlanta.

THE MATCHUP
Charlotte finished the 2024-25 regular season with an 11-22 (3-15 AAC) record, closing the year in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Championship. Ben Bradford paces three 49ers who are averaging double figures in points with 14.0 per game. He lists averages of 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The hosts previously lost six players to graduation and five to the NCAA transfer portal, while adding 12 new athletes, comprised of eight transfers and four freshmen.

Aaron Fearne spent five seasons on the Charlotte staff before being named interim head coach in June 2023, including one as associate head coach during the 2022-23 campaign. He played an instrumental role in securing three of Conference USA's top-ranked recruiting classes and helping the 49ers to their most wins since 2000-01 with a 22-14 mark in 2022-23. That season concluded with the program's first postseason tournament championship, as the 49ers captured the College Basketball Invitational title in Daytona Beach, Fla. Fearne was officially named Charlotte's 14th head coach in Feb. 2024, after leading the program to a 19-12 record and a top-three finish in the American Conference during his interim season.
   
LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette's Andrew Phillips (16) and Mark Butler (14) rounded out the Leopards in double figures during the 74-72 loss to Penn on Dec. 8. Overall, the Quakers recorded a 42.4 percent performance from the floor while keeping to nine turnovers.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Shareef Jackson and Christian Humphrey-Rembert earned their first collegiate double-doubles on Nov. 29 in the 55-37 win versus Ball State. Jackson recorded a team-high 11 points and 14 rebounds in addition to making two blocks. Humphrey-Rembert added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Andrew Phillips paced the Leopards at Stonehill on Nov. 21 with the squad's first double-double of the season. He secured a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in the final-minute 77-74 loss. The junior shot 7-of-19 from the floor in addition to three 3-pointers and five free throws. 

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Caleb Williams is in the top 10 in the Patriot League in 11 categories: field goal attempts (2nd, 148), field goals (7th, 59), free throw percentage (1st, 90.2), free throws (8th, 37), minutes per game (9th, 31:49), points (2nd, 191), points per game (2nd, 17.4), three point attempts (2nd, 85),  three point percentage (2nd, 42.4), three pointers per game (2nd, 3.3) and total three point FGM (2nd, 36).

KEEPING IT NEAT
Junior Mark Butler leads the Patriot League and ranks 38th in the country with his 3.42 assist/turnover ratio. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, has dished 41 assists and kept to 12 turnovers through 11 games in 2025-26. In the conference, he is sixth for his dimes per game (3.7) and third for his 32:43 minutes per game. Butler recorded a season-high seven assists against Cornell (Nov. 13) and Mercyhurst (Dec. 5) this year.

PETTIT'S LARCENY
Senior guard Ryan Pettit has 14 steals this season for the Leopards. The Westfield, N.J. native is seventh in the conference for steals per game (1.56). He made a career-high five heists against Ball State on Nov. 29.

IN GOOD HANDS
Two Leopard freshmen are in the top six in the Patriot League for rebounds per game. Shareef Jackson heads the offensive boards in sixth place with 2.0 per game. Christian Humphrey-Rembert has a lock on the defensive end at 4.8 per game (third place). 

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. Malik Rasul did not dress at Penn. Ryan Pettit has a broken nose (vs. Monmouth) and will be out until conference play begins.

FRESH MEAT
Ashton Wallace, Beckett Currie, Christian Humphrey-Rembert, Luke Azzinaro, Luke Bevilacqua and Shareef Jackson 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. 

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. 

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 its win total for the third straight season.

2024-25 HARDWARE
Caleb Williams secured an All-Rookie accolade 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.