OPENING TIP
Lafayette hosts Lehigh for the 250th showing of the Rivalry, the oldest and most played rivalry in the Patriot League. The Leopards lead the series 150-99, though the Mountain Hawks lay claim to eight of the past 11 battles. In the last meeting, Lehigh secured a 64-59 win on Jan. 24. Caleb Williams scored a team-high 18 points to go against Lehigh's Nasir Whitlock with 20 points and three assists.

Last time out, Lafayette was bested by Loyola Maryland in Wednesday's Patriot League matchup, 68-54, due to cold shooting early in the first half in Kirby Sports Center. Andrew Phillips was the main option throughout the evening, posting his second double-double of the year on 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Shareef Jackson, who averages 10 points per game and has 24 starts, did not take to the court due to illness.

Sophomore guard Caleb Williams is ranked fifth in the Patriot League at 16.1 points per game. He has scored 10+ points in every game (except at Navy on Jan. 10 and Loyola Md. on Feb. 11) 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 Alumni Day for the Maroon and White, as former teammates and coaches return to College Hill for the 50th anniversary of the 1976 East Coast Conference championship and the 45th anniversary of the 1981 East Coast Conference championship. All alumni will be brought on the court at halftime for recognition of their contributions to the program.

Next up, the Leopards travel to Holy Cross on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. start.

THE MATCHUP
Lehigh finished the 2024-25 regular season with an 11-19 (6-12 PL) record, falling to Loyola Md., 77-73, during
the Patriot League Tournament's first round on March 4, 2025. Through this winter's non-conference stretch, the Mountain Hawks posted a 4-7 record against opponents like No. 2 Houston, West Virginia, Rutgers and Columbia. With a 7-6 record in league play, the Mountain Hawks most recently bested American, 90-82, at home on Feb. 11. Junior guard Nasir Whitlock commands the program with 20.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 3.0 apg.
    In 18 years on the sideline, head coach Brett Reed has become the winningest coach in Lehigh history. Reed owns a 52.1 career winning percentage, among the best in Patriot League history. Reed's 298 overall wins and 168 Patriot League victories are both second in conference history behind Lafayette's former leader, Fran O'Hanlon (362, 184).

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 533 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 226-307 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 five 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 today serving as Alumni Day and the Senior Gift Half-Court Shot Raffle. The Rivalry hit a major milestone at 250 total series games this evening. 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. The game was tied 65-65 with 23 seconds on the clock. 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 ninth in the country with his 3.62 assist/turnover ratio. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, has dished 105 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 (33:53). 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 13 categories: assist/turnover ratio (10th, 1.55), assists (8th, 87), assists per game (8th, 3.3), field goal attempts (2nd, 347), free throw percentage (3rd, 87.8), free throws (7th, 86), minutes per game (9th, 33:04), points (4th, 419), points per game (5th, 16.1), three point attempts (1st, 204), three point percentage (3rd, 34.8), three pointers per game (2nd, 2.73) and total three point FGM (2nd, 71).

CRASHING THE GLASS
Leopard freshman Christian Humphrey-Rembert is ranked fifth in the conference for his 171 rebounds. The Grand Rapids, Mich. native places second for defensive rebounds per game (5.46) and sixth for total rebounds per game (6.6). 

CONSISTENCY IN THE FIVE
Lafayette has shown lineup stability, using just four 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 (1) and Shareef Jackson (2) have missed matches. The starting five was consistent in the third combination from Nov. 29, 2025 to Feb. 10, 2026.
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. Andrew Phillips scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds on Feb. 11 against Loyola Maryland.
 
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.