OPENING TIP
Lafayette begins the Patriot League slate by hosting Colgate on the afternoon of New Year's Eve. The last time conference play began before the holiday came on Dec. 30, 2022 with the Leopards facing American in Easton.

Last time out, Georgia Tech secured a 95-81 win over the Maroon and White on Dec. 20 at McCamish Pavilion. Mark Butler and Caleb Williams split 40 points in the Leopards' highest-scoring game of the season.

Sophomore guard Caleb Williams is ranked second in the Patriot League for his 223 total points and 17.2 points per game. He has yet to finish a game with less than 10 points in 2025-26. Against Penn on Dec. 8, he recorded his second-consecutive game above 20 points and third-consecutive game with at least four 3-pointers. Williams continues to help beyond the arc as the Leopards have hit 10 or more three-pointers in a game five times this season, highlighted by a 14-of-23 effort against Mercyhurst on Dec. 5.
 
In total, Lafayette hosted six non-conference games, finishing with a 3-3 record in Kirby Sports Center. Dickinson, Ball State and Mercyhurst were all defeated by Lafayette in the first half of the year. 

Next up, the Leopards travel to Loyola Md. on Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip-off. 

THE MATCHUP
Colgate finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 14-19 (10-8 PL) record, falling to American in the Patriot League Tournament's semifinal round. Through this winter's non-conference stretch, the Raiders posted a 6-7 record facing formidable foes such as #22 Michigan State, #14 Illinois and #23 Florida. Junior guard Jalen Cox commands the squad with 15.8 ppg, 5.6 apg, 4.8 rpg and 2.1 spg. 

Matt Langel became the winningest coach in Colgate's program history during his 11th season on Feb. 8, 2023. He is the only Patriot League men's basketball coach to earn five Coach of the Year honors and has the most championships by any head coach in conference history (five).

Lafayette head coach Mike McGarvey and assistant coach Sean O'Brien both previously worked under Langel as an assistant coach (2011-18) and a director of operations (2021-22), respectively. O'Brien was a four-year member of the Raiders' basketball program prior to graduating in 2018.
   
LAST TIME OUT
Lafayette, shooting 44.3 percent from the floor overall, fell to Georgia Tech on Dec. 20 in a 95-81 final. Mark Butler led the Leopards on both ends of the court, totaling 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Caleb Williams added 20 points of his own to go with three rebounds and six assists. The Yellow Jackets shot an even 50 percent from the field, including 56 percent  from 3-point range on 16 attempts.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 520 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 221-299 in the regular season and 26-32 in the Patriot League Tournament, including a 13-5 home record. In the previous season's conference tournament, No. 7 Lafayette was eliminated by second-seeded American, 71-69, in the quarterfinal round on March 6, 2025.

CONSISTENCY IN THE FIVE
Lafayette has shown lineup stability, using just three starting combinations this season after opening the year with the same five in each of its first and last five games. Mark Butler, Andrew Phillips and Humphrey-Rembert have started all 13 games, while Williams and Jackson have each drawn 12 starts.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Caleb Williams is in the top 10 in the Patriot League in 12 categories: field goal attempts (2nd, 176), field goals (4th, 68), free throw attempts (6th, 53), free throw percentage (3rd, 88.7), free throws (6th, 47), minutes per game (5th, 32:07), points (2nd, 223), points per game (2nd, 17.2), three point attempts (1st, 101), three point percentage (2nd, 39.6), three pointers per game (2nd, 3.08) and total three point FGM (2nd, 40).

KEEPING IT NEAT
Junior Mark Butler leads the Patriot League and ranks 35th in the country with his 3.44 assist/turnover ratio. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, has dished 55 assists and kept to 16 turnovers through 13 games in 2025-26. In the conference, he is fourth for his dimes per game (4.2) and third for his minutes per game (32:52). Butler recorded a career-high eight assists at Georgia Tech on Dec. 20.

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 4.85 per game (third place). 

PETTIT'S LARCENY
In non-conference play, senior guard Ryan Pettit had 14 steals through nine games before he was sidelined due to injury. The Westfield, N.J. native ranked sixth in the conference for steals per game (1.56) in December and he made a career-high five heists against Ball State on Nov. 29.

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. 

INJURY REPORT
Freshman Beckett Currie suffered a broken left scaphoid during preseason preparations and had season-ending surgery to repair the injury. Joshua Wyche was indefinitely sidelined from a recurring injury, but returned to action for the first time in 2025-26 at Charlotte for 13 minutes. Ryan Pettit is still recovering from surgery for a broken nose (vs. Monmouth) and is set to return soon.

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. 

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).

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. 

BACK ON THE PROWL
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. 

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.