Jan 2, 2000

ATLANTA, GA - Down 23 points at halftime to Atlantic Coast Conference power Georgia Tech, the Lafayette men's basketball team continued its strong play against the nation's elite teams by closing to within six points in the final minutes before falling on the road.

The Leopards (6-4) trailed 47-24 at the half, as Georgia Tech (7-4) finished the first 20 minutes with a 14-0 run.

Lafayette, which lost in the final seconds at Villanova early in the season and took St. Joseph's to double overtime just four days ago, came out with strong defense and outside shooting in the second half. The Leopards narrowed the deficit to 62-56 with 3:00 remaining as they outscored the Yellow Jackets 32-15 over those first 17:00 of the second half.

Tyson Whitfield had the hot hand for Lafayette, connecting on six three-pointers for a game-high 21 points. Stefan Ciosici continues to return to his 1997-98 Patriot League Player of the Year form as he poured in 17 points against the Georgia Tech's Jason Collier.

"We just don't have quit in us," said Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon after the game. "We didn't shoot very well in the first half, but we came out strong in the second half against a very strong ACC team."

"Georgia Tech was very well prepared for us," added O'Hanlon. "There's no sneaking up on anyone anymore and that is a credit to our guys. Maybe a couple of years ago we could have snuck up on a team of this national caliber but not now."

After closing within six points, Lafayette missed on its next possession and Georgia Tech converted three straight opportunities to get the lead back into double figures. The Yellow Jackets, led by Shaun Fein's game and season-high 24 points, converted most of their free throws to end the game with the 11-point victory.

The Leopards return home to host Delaware Valley on Wednesday, January 5, at 8:00 p.m., and then hit the road to play Princeton on Saturday, January 8, at 7:30 p.m.