OPENING TIP
Lafayette hosts Loyola Md. today, looking for its first series sweep in 2025-26. Previously in the series (Jan. 3), the Leopards shot 54 percent from the floor to collect a 79-64 win in Baltimore. Caleb Williams and freshman Shareef Jackson evenly split 40 points in the initial conference victory of the year.

Last time out, Lafayette knocked off Army, 63-60 on Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena. Andrew Phillips made five steals and had 12 of his 15 total points come in a crucial second-half rally. First-year Christian Humphrey-Rembert recorded his second collegiate double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Caleb Williams is ranked fourth in the Patriot League at 16.6 points per game. He has scored 10+ points in every game (except at Navy on Jan. 10) in 2025-26 and has netted 20+ points against foes such as Texas, Mercyhurst, Penn, Georgia Tech, Loyola Md., Boston U. and Bucknell. In 14 games, he has made at least three 3-pointers. The Economics major recorded a career-high seven buckets from long distance on Jan. 28 against Bucknell.

Today is the Game Day Zero Waste Challenge in partnership with Lafayette Sustainability. Men's basketball is competing with other colleges around the nation to see who can reduce, recycle and compost the most. Lafayette is a global leader in sustainability that sets bold goals, embeds sustainability into the college experience and engages our campus community in the journey to carbon neutrality. College Hill was the first higher education institution in the Lehigh Valley to set a climate commitment and holds the most ambitious goal in the region: 100% reduction in emissions from the 2008 baseline by 2035. Please visit bit.ly/4rDlHWNfor more.

Next up, the Leopards invite Lehigh to Kirby Sports Center on Saturday (5 p.m.) for a Rivalry and Valentine's Day doubleheader.

THE MATCHUP
Loyola finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 12-19 (6-12 PL) record, falling to Bucknell in overtime,
76-72, during the Patriot League Tournament semifinal round on March 6, 2025. Through this winter's non-conference stretch, the Greyhounds posted a 4-9 record, facing foes like #12 Kentucky, Fairfield and Virginia Military Institute. In current Patriot League play, sophomore guard Braeden Speed leads the Greyhounds with 15.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.2 apg.
    Head coach Josh Loeffler is in his second season at the helm after coaching stops at Johns Hopkins and
Stevens, where he put together a 160-40 overall record between the two Division III programs. The
Greyhounds' Loeffler ('08-12) and assistant coach Matt Blue ('15-17) both had coaching stints under Lafayette's former leader, Fran O'Hanlon.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 532 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 226-306 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.

HEATING UP
The Maroon and White have won three of their previous four games by a combined seven points; two vs. Bucknell (Jan. 28), two at American (Jan. 31)and three at Army (Feb. 7).

UPCOMING EXCITEMENT
Lafayette released its promotional calendar for the remainder of the Patriot League slate with Feb. 14 (vs. Lehigh) serving as Alumni Day and the Senior Gift Half-Court Shot Raffle. Senior Day is set for Feb. 28 against American, honoring graduating guard Ryan Pettit.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore guard Caleb Williams was voted as the Patriot League Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 2, averaging 22.0 points and 4.0 assists from Jan. 28-31. In his sophomore campaign, he has 23 starts and over 790 minutes spent on the court. The Economics major has lad the team in scoring throughout the season.

LAST-SECOND SUCCESS
The Leopards are currently 3-1 in games decided by three points or fewer, two wins of which occurred directly through Caleb Williams.
    On Jan. 28 against Bucknell, Williams had a career evening of 28 points, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range. In the second half, Lafayette was up by one, 80-79, with seven seconds remaining on the clock. The Bison fouled Williams, who secured one free throw before helping the defensive unit shut down Bucknell's corner 3-pointer try as the clock ran out.
    A last-second driving layup by Caleb Williams helped Lafayette overtake American on Jan. 31 at Bender Arena, where the Eagles entered with a 10-2 home record. By the one-minute mark in the second half, American's Matt Mayock paced a 10-5 edge to knot the game 63-63. Williams secured a go-ahead driving layup, leaving 38 seconds on the clock. The hosts found a match just 15 seconds later, 65-65. After a quick timeout for head coach Mike McGarvey to call a play, Williams solely fought his way to the basket for a 67-65 finish as the buzzer sounded.

ADMIRABLE ASSISTS
Junior Mark Butler leads the Patriot League and ranks 14th in the country with his 3.45 assist/turnover ratio. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, has dished 100 assists and kept to 29 turnovers in 2025-26. In the conference, he is sixth for his dimes per game (4.0) and fifth for minutes per game (33:54). Butler recorded a career-high eight assists at Georgia Tech on Dec. 20 during non-conference play.

THE WONDROUS WILLIAMS
Caleb Williams is in the top 10 in the Patriot League in 14 categories: assist/turnover ratio (9th, 1.55), assists (7th, 85), assists per game (7th, 3.4), field goal attempts (2nd, 336), field goals (10th, 130), free throw percentage (1st, 89.4), free throws (6th, 84), minutes per game (9th, 33:16), points (3rd, 415), points per game (4th, 16.6), three point attempts (1st, 195), three point percentage (3rd, 36.4), three pointers per game (2nd, 2.84) and total three point FGM (2nd, 71).

CRASHING THE GLASS
Leopard freshman Christian Humphrey-Rembert is ranked fourth in the conference for his 167 rebounds. The Grand Rapids, Mich. native places second for defensive rebounds per game (5.52) and fourth for total rebounds per game (6.7). 

CONSISTENCY IN THE FIVE
Lafayette has shown lineup stability, using just three starting combinations this season after opening the year with the same group in each of its first five games. Mark Butler, Andrew Phillips and Christian Humphrey-Rembert have started in all of the contests, while Caleb Williams and Shareef Jackson each have missed one game. The starting five has not changed since Nov. 29, 2025.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
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.
    First-years Shareef Jackson and Christian Humphrey-Rembert earned their first collegiate double-doubles together 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.
    Shareef Jackson recorded the second double-double of his freshman campaign on Jan. 17, propelling Lafayette to a 74-55 win over Holy Cross using 15 points and 10 rebounds.
    Most recently, Humphrey-Rembert posted 13 points and 11 rebounds to push Lafayette to a 63-60 victory at Army on Feb. 7.
 
INJURY REPORT
Freshman Beckett Currie suffered a broken left scaphoid during preseason preparations and had season-ending surgery to repair it. Malik Rasul has been ruled out for the remainder of the season as well (elbow).

PETTIT'S LARCENY
Senior guard Ryan Pettit had 14 steals through nine games before he was sidelined due to injury (broken nose) for the remainder of non-conference play. 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.

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. "Ryan and Mark continue to represent our team well both on and off the court," head coach Mike McGarvey said.

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).

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.