EASTON, Pa. – No. 7 Lafayette edged No. 10 Holy Cross, 69-68, and No. 8 Loyola Maryland defeated No. 9 Lehigh, 77-73, in the First Round of the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship.
Leopards’ freshman guard Caleb Williams hit a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining in regulation to squeak past the Crusaders. The seventh-seeded Leopards will meet No. 2 American in the quarterfinal round on Thursday night.
Senior forward Milos Ilic scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Greyhounds past the Mountain Hawks. No. 8 Loyola Maryland will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to face top-seeded Bucknell in the quarterfinals.
Two more Patriot League men’s basketball quarterfinal-round games are on Thursday, with No. 3 Colgate hosting No. 6 Army West Point, and No. 4 Boston University welcoming No. 5 Navy. Live coverage of all four Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals games begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
CLICK HERE for more information on the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship. To view the 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Championship Digital Program,
CLICK HERE.
| DATE |
MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | ROUND | COVERAGE |
TIME/SCORE |
| Tuesday, March 4 |
No. 10 Holy Cross at No. 7 Lafayette | First Round | ESPN+ |
Lafayette, 69-68 |
| Tuesday, March 4 |
No. 9 Lehigh at No. 8 Loyola Maryland | First Round | ESPN+ |
Loyola, 77-73 |
| Thursday, March 6 |
No. 8 Loyola Maryland at No. 1 Bucknell | Quarterfinals | ESPN+ |
7 p.m. |
| Thursday, March 6 |
No. 7 Lafayette at No. 2 American | Quarterfinals | ESPN+ |
7 p.m. |
| Thursday, March 6 |
No. 6 Army West Point at No. 3 Colgate | Quarterfinals | ESPN+ |
7 p.m. |
| Thursday, March 6 |
No. 5 Navy at No. 4 Boston University | Quarterfinals | ESPN+ |
7 p.m. |
| Sunday, March 9 |
Winner of 9/8/1 vs. Winner of 5/4 | Semifinals | CBSSN |
Noon. / 2 p.m. |
| Sunday, March 9 |
Winner of 10/7/2 vs. Winner of 6/3 | Semifinals | CBSSN |
Noon / 2 p.m. |
| Wednesday, March 12 |
2025 PenFed Credit Union Championship Game | CBSSN |
7 p.m. |
AT NO. 7 LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (13-19, 7-11 PL) 69, NO. 10 HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (13-19, 5-13 PL) 68
Kirby Sports Center/Easton, Pa. 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
EASTON, Pa. – Freshman guard Caleb Williams connected on a pair of free throws with four seconds left in regulation to lift No. 7 Lafayette to a 69-68 victory over No. 10 Holy Cross in a first-round matchup at Kirby Sports Center.
*Williams finished with 13 points, connecting on 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, to go with six rebounds, six assists and four steals to help the Leopards move to the quarterfinals, where they will meet No. 2 American on Thursday.
*Senior center Justin Vander Baan, the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, led Lafayette with a double-double on a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. He also added five assists and a blocked shot.
*Leopards’ freshman guard Alex Chaikin scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep.
*Holy Cross freshman guard Max Green, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, recorded his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, connecting on 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
*Sophomore guard Joe Nugent shot 5-of-8 from deep, finishing with 17 points, while senior forward Caleb Kenney and sophomore guard DeAndre Williams scored 14 and 12 points, respectively for the Crusaders.
RECAPS:
HOLY CROSS |
LAFAYETTE
AT NO. 8 LOYOLA MARYLAND GREYHOUNDS (12-18, 6-12 PL) 77, NO. 9 LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (11-19, 6-12 PL) 73
Reitz Arena/Baltimore, Md. 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
BALTIMORE, Md. – Senior forward Milos Ilic recorded 17 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 8 Loyola Maryland to a 77-73 victory over No. 9 Lehigh in the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Championship First Round.
*Ilic connected on 6-of-9 from the floor, leading five Greyhounds in double figures to set up a quarterfinal-round matchup at top-seed Bucknell on Thursday.
*Greyhounds’ freshman guard Braeden Speed’s three-point play with 32 seconds remaining in the game put Loyola Maryland in front for good at 75-73. Speed finished with 13 points.
*Sophomore guards Jacob Theodosiou and Jordan Stiemke finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively, while junior guard Tyson Commander came off the bench to score 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
*Lehigh sophomore guard Nasir Whitlock and senior guard Ben Knostman came off the bench to score 16 and 10 points, respectively. Whitlock shot 6-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
*Senior guard Tyler Whitney-Sidney finished with 12 points, while first-year forward Edouard Benoit scored 10 points. First-year forward Hank Alvey grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks.
RECAPS:
LEHIGH |
LOYOLA MARYLAND
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.