Nov. 9, 2000

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - The Lafayette men's basketball players who accounted for the last three Patriot League Player of the Year awards added another honor to a long list, as Brian Ehlers '00 and Stefan Ciosici '00 were selected to the Patriot League Men's Basketball All-Decade Team.

Ehlers garnered Patriot League Player of the Year honors his last two seasons (1998-99 and 1999-00) while leading the team and the conference in scoring. A native of Bay Shore, Long Island, Ehlers is Lafayette's third all-time leading scorer with 1,836 career points.

He will perhaps best be remembered for his all-around game. Ehlers was ranked in the top 10 in 10 statistical categories his final two seasons including, scoring, assists, free throw percentage and assist/turnover ratio. In that time, he managed to put together a streak of 45 games in which he scored in double digits.

Ciosici's impact on the Lafayette program was more immediate. The 6-11 import from Romania was the unanimous selection as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 1995-96. Ciosici took his game to another level in 1997-98, leading his Leopard squad to a 19-9 record and a share of the Patriot League regular-season title all while earning Player of the Year honors. That season Ciosici averaged 17.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and became just the eighth player in Patriot League history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career. He would finish his career with 1,496 points and 831 rebounds.

The 1998-99 season proved to be a trying one for Ciosici who was forced to sit out due to a preseason ACL injury. His injury left an offensive void which Ehlers successfully filled. Ehlers led the Leopards with an 18.1 ppg average. Appropriately for Ehlers' personality, his accomplishments would be overshadowed by the team's success. Lafayette went on to a 22-8 record, the Patriot League regular-season and tournament titles and Lafayette's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 42 years.

The 1999-2000 season reunited Ehlers and Ciosici, and it was the first time ever in NCAA history that a team featured two Patriot League Players of the Year on the same team. The team was burdened by expectation, but didn't disappoint. Behind the slashing drives of Ehlers and the dominating post play of Ciosici, Lafayette made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, on its way collecting a third-straight Patriot League regular-season title, a Patriot League Tournament title, a school-record 24 wins and a second Player of the Year citation for Ehlers.

Ehlers and Ciosici graduated from Lafayette in 2000, Ehlers receiving a degree in Business and Economics and Ciosici in both Biology and German. Both are currently playing professional basketball overseas. Ehlers is playing in Newcastle, England, and Ciosici in Rimini, Italy.