Game Info: Wednesday, November 7, 2026 - 4:00 PM
Location: Hagan Arena - Philadelphia, Pa.
Tickets | TV: ESPN+ | Listen: sjuhawks.com.(Mike Samsel - PXP) | Live Stats: sjuhawks.com | Saint Joseph's Game Notes

Social Media
Twitter/X: @sjuhawks_mbb | Instagram: @sjuhawks_mbb

Opening Tip
Saint Joseph's looks to build on its season-opening win, taking on the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday, November 7. Tipoff from Hagan Arena is slated for 4:00 p.m. with the game on ESPN+.

Starting The Right Way    
The win for the Hawks on Wednesday night against Longwood marked the fourth consecutive season St. Joe's started the season with a victory. It is also the fifth time in the last six years  SJU won its season-opener with the only blemish coming against No. 3 Houston at the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Md.  on November 11, 2022. The win was also Steve Donahue's fourth straight season-opening triumph.

Access Denied    
One of the big reasons Saint Joseph's came out on top against the Lancers was their ability to protect the rim. SJU blocked eight Longwood shots, the third-highest total in a season opener going back to the 2004-05 season. The team had 11 swats against Navy on November 4, 2024 and nine versus Western Kentucky on November 11, 2011. Individually, Sean Logan turned aside six shots, two off his career-high. Jaiden Glover-Toscano and Austin Williford had one block each.

Your Call Did Not Go Through    
Longwood tried to dial it up from distance Wednesday night, but didn't have much success in getting the connection to work. The Lancers took 42 three-pointers in the game, making just 11 of them, a 26.2 percent success rate. In their opener, they also hit 11, but took just 23 shots from beyond the arc. The 42 three-point attempts are the third most ever by an SJU opponent. George Washington took 45 treys on February 4, 2026 and Villanova attempted 43 on December 8, 2018. It is also the third most taken by any team at Hagan Arena/Alumni Fieldhouse.  In addition to the GW game last season, St. Joe's tried 43 shots from deep on December 19, 2019. There have been four instances total that one team has tried at least 40 three-pointers at Hagan Arena. The Hawks are 4-0 in those games.

Getting to Know You    
Several members of the Hawks made their Saint Joseph's debuts on Wednesday with some impressive results. Notably, BJ Ranson scored 17 in his collegiate debut with six rebounds. Sean Logan filled up the stat sheet with a career-high seven assists, seven rebounds and six blocks. Logan Carey came off the bench and provided a defensive spark, picking up a pair of steals in 20 minutes.

Battle for Bragging Rights    
While the game will be played on the Main Line, there will be particular interest in the Saint Joseph's-Lafayette clash in western Montgomery County. Both head coaches are alums of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. Donahue played for the Bears for three seasons and was part of the 1982 team that won 19 games and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals before falling to eventual national runner-up, SUNY Potsdam. McGarvey helped lead Ursinus to a 76-35 record from 2002-06 and remains eighth on the school's career scoring list with 1,460 points.

Breakout Performance    
Khaafiq Myers was an important bench piece for St. Joe's last season, scoring in double figures five times. Drawing his first career starting assignment against Longwood, the junior showed his ability to contribute, netting a career-high 17 points, pulling down six rebounds and dishing four assists. Last season, Myers averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 34 games.

Scouting Report    

• Lafayette enters play 1-1 overall and is coming off a 104-67 win against Division III King's (Pa.) on Thursday night. In its only game against a Division I opponent this season, the Leopards were downed 96-60 at Butler. Lafayette was  selected seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll.
• Cooper Kesler leads the offense for Leopards at 17.0 points per game. A transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, he was named Second Team All-Scenic West Conference last season for the NJCAA National Champions. Jasraj Gill is pulling in 7.0 rebounds an outing and also leads the team with nine assists.
• Lafayette is a young team and hasn't had a lot of experience playing together as seven players return from last season's roster with only one, Misha Bednostin, having played more than 34 games in their careers heading into this season. Shareef Jackson made the biggest impact last season, averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, including scoring 16 with eight boards in his collegiate debut against the Hawks.
• One thing that LC has done well in both games is take the ball away from its opponents with double-digit steals in each contest. Gill and Owen Kelly have three swipes each and 13 different players have a steal for the Leopards.
• Mike McGarvey is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Leopards, with a record of 38-66 in Easton. Prior to joining the Lafayette staff, he was the head coach at Division III Lycoming for four seasons, leading the Warriors to a No. 9 ranking in the D3Hoops poll during the 2017-18 season and a MAC Commonwealth tournament title and NCAA tournament berth in 2020.

All-Time Series    
Saturday is the 47th all-time meeting between the Hawks and Leopards with St. Joe's holding a 37-9 advantage in the series. SJU has won three in a row and 14 of 15 against Lafayette and is 21-4 against LC at home. The first clash between the two teams was nearly a century ago when Saint Joseph's beat Lafayette 25-23 on December 6, 1930.

Last Time Vs. The Leopards    
Lafayette closed a double-digit halftime deficit to a single point within the first six minutes of the second stanza, but St. Joe's stabilized and came away with an 85-76 win on November 3, 2025. Jaiden Glover-Toscano made an immediate impact in his first game as a Hawk, scoring 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting, also hauling in nine rebounds. In what would become a familiar sight, Derek Simpson filled the stat sheet with 11 points, five boards and five assists. SJU led by 10 at intermission and scored the first bucket of the second half 11 seconds into the frame, opening a 43-31 lead. Lafayette responded with a 20-9 run that needed just six minutes, closing the gap to 52-51 with 13:55 to play. The Hawks recovered and sealed the game, hitting 7-of-8 at the line in the final three minutes.

Next Up    
The Hawks play away from Hagan Arena for the first time this season when they have a neutral-site contest against the South Florida Bulls in the Veterans Classic on Wednesday, November 11. Tipoff from Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. with the game to air on CBS Sports Network.

Tickets for Saint Joseph's 2026–27 season are on sale now at sjuhawks.com/tickets or by calling 610-660-3319.