OPENING TIP
Lafayette travels to Army today to finalize the initial round of Patriot League meetings. Last winter, the two programs split the series, helping the Leopards keep a 49-36 series front. Army first earned a 70-68 win against the Leopards inside Christl Arena, winning on a shot at the buzzer from then senior guard, Jalen Rucker. On the road in Easton, Pa., Lafayette knocked off the Black Knights, 81-65.

The Leopards have both military academies on this week's slate. Last time out, Lafayette held its own against Patriot League leader Navy (10-1) until the final minutes on Wednesday evening, falling by a 65-50 final at Kirby Sports Center. The Mids finished at 49 percent from the floor and had 10 steals, leading to an 18-6 points-off-turnovers margin. The squad's 20 bench points overtook three from the Leopards.

Sophomore guard Caleb Williams is ranked fourth in the Patriot League at 16.7 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.

Lafayette released its promotional calendar for the remainder of the Patriot League slate: Feb. 11 - Game Day Zero Waste Challenge, Feb. 14 - Alumni Day and Senior Gift Half-Court Shot Raffle, Feb. 28 - Senior Day.

Next up, the Leopards host Loyola Maryland on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Lafayette Sustainability will have a booth in Kirby Sports Center for the Game Day Zero Waste Challenge, which tracks and reports the waste footprint of collegiate sports games using friendly competition to inspire better recycling management practices.

THE MATCHUP
Army finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 17-16 (10-8 PL) record, competing in the Patriot League quarterfinal against Colgate on March 6. After the first half of this season's league slate, Army rests in seventh place and is tied with Lafayette and Boston U.  at 4-7. Most recently, the Black Knights saw their first 2-0 week in conference play, overtaking Lehigh (67-64) and Holy Cross (69-68) by a total of four points. Starting point guard Ryan Curry leads the squad in scoring (15.0 ppg) while adding 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Head coach Kevin Kuwick has collected at least 10 wins in each of his three seasons at the helm since he was appointed on March 29, 2023.

FAMILIAR FOES
Lafayette has played 531 games against current Patriot League members. In conference play, the Leopards are 225-306 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.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Caleb Williams was voted as the Patriot League Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday afternoon, 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 commanded Lafayette's offense through the entire season.

LAST-SECOND SUCCESS
The Leopards are currently 2-1 in games decided by three points or fewer, both wins of which occurred last week through sophomore guard 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 11th in the country with his 3.63 assist/turnover ratio. Butler, a Philadelphia, Pa. native, has dished 98 assists and kept to 27 turnovers in 2025-26. In the conference, he is sixth for his dimes per game (4.1) and fifth for minutes per game (33:52). Butler recorded a career-high eight assists at Georgia Tech on Dec. 20.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Caleb Williams is in the top 10 in the Patriot League in 14 categories: assist/turnover ratio (7th, 1.6), assists (7th, 80), assists per game (8th, 3.3), field goal attempts (2nd, 321), field goals (9th, 125), free throw percentage (1st, 89.1), free throws (6th, 82), minutes per game (8th, 33:13), points (3rd, 401), points per game (4th, 16.7), three point attempts (1st, 188), three point percentage (3rd, 36.7), three pointers per game (2nd, 2.88) and total three point FGM (2nd, 69).

CRASHING THE GLASS
Leopard freshman Christian Humphrey-Rembert is ranked fifth in the conference for his 156 rebounds. The Grand Rapids, Mich. native places second for defensive rebounds per game (5.38) and fifth for total rebounds per game (6.5). On Jan. 14, he scored a career-high 21 points, shooting 5-of-9 from 3-point range, at Bucknell. 

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.

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 (elbow) as well.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
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.
    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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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, 2025, 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.