The men’s basketball team opened up its season this past week, splitting a pair of non-conference matchups. The Leopards fell to St. Joseph’s University 85-76 on the road on Monday but picked up the 79-44 win against Dickinson College on Wednesday at the Kirby Sports Center.
The Leopards (1-1 overall) entered its 2025-26 campaign looking to “win at all costs,” sophomore guard Caleb Williams said.
“We knew last year we had a good team, but this year we came back with younger guys,” Williams said. “Everybody doubted us, and we’re just trying to flip the script.”
Starting hot for the Maroon and White against St. Joseph’s (1-0 overall) was junior guard Andrew Phillips, whose back-to-back three-pointers put the visitors up 8-4 over the hosts just two minutes into the game.
“I feel like I have that underdog mentality,” Phillips said. “Not a lot of people recognize us going into a bigger team like Saint Joe’s.”
However, the hosts stormed back on an 18-4 run, putting them up by 10 at the 12-minute mark. Both teams traded buckets over the remainder of the half, with freshman forward Shareef Jackson scoring the period’s final four points to put the Maroon and White down 41-31 at the break.
Williams swished a shot from behind the arc to begin the second half. The momentum carried over as the Leopards went on a 20-11 stretch down to the 14-minute mark to pull the visitors within one point, trailing 52-51.
By 5:52, the Hawks retook control courtesy of seven free throws, holding a 68-62 lead. Jackson continued to find the bottom of the net, as the freshman kept the Leopards within six with two minutes to go.
A deep three from the Hawks gave them an 83-74 edge with 30 seconds to go. After trading a pair of jumpers, the final score read 85-76 as the buzzer rang out.
Leading the Leopards was Phillips, who had 17 points, followed by three other players in double digits. Jackson had 15 and led the team in boards with eight in his first game for the Maroon and White.
“Being a local kid coming from Philadelphia, it’s a big game for me,” Phillips said. “Having our people in the crowd, hearing cheers, especially at Saint Joe’s, gives us a lot of motivation.”
Kicking off the Leopards’ first home game of the season were Phillips and Jackson, who combined for nine points to put the hosts up 9-8 against Dickinson (0-1 overall). The Red Devils stayed hot on the Leopards’ tail, however, tying the game up at 11 apiece with 14 minutes left to play in the period.
The game plan going up against Division III Dickinson was the same as every other game, Williams said.
“It’s really just execution,” he said. “We did the same game plan, like, we’re not gonna change how we played with anybody. We just got to come in here and just keep playing Lafayette.”
Over the next five minutes, the Maroon and White went on a 14-0 run, capped off by a slam by freshman forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert. Williams led a 15-7 stretch immediately after with a pair of layups and a dagger behind the arc to put the Leopards up 40-18. The Red Devils closed out the half with an 8-3 run in the final three minutes to make the tally 43-26.
Fresh out of the break, Dickinson was red hot from behind the arc, splashing three shots to put them within nine at the 15-minute mark. The Leopards locked in after this scare, going on a 24-2 stretch to the 10-minute mark.
“I just felt poised,” Williams said. “I know my teammates trust in me, and I trust in my teammates, so all we had to do was just play our basketball.”
The final 10 minutes of gameplay were filled with strong defense on both ends, with 12 combined turnovers compared to a total of 16 points for both teams. As the final buzzer rang out, the scoreboard read 79-44 Leopards.
Leading in scoring for the home team was Williams, followed by Phillips, who had 16 and 15, respectively. The Leopards shot 40% from the field, with a 30% mark from behind the arc.
The Leopards are heading south for their next contest, taking on the University of Texas at Austin (0-1 overall) on Saturday.