It was a battle of contrasting styles. The ACC mainstay against the Big Ten upstart. Pure athleticism versus grit and heart.

Georgia Tech (6-1) was a giant step up in competition for the Penn State men's basketball team (4-2) and it was going to take a great game for the Nittany Lions to come anywhere close to sniffing a victory against the No. 21 Yellow Jackets last night in Atlanta.

The Lions gave a solid effort against their ACC counterpart. But, at the end of the night, Penn State, which relied mostly on heart and guts through much of the second half, was simply worn out by the more athletic Yellow Jackets, who escaped with a 77-74 win.

The gameplan going into the contest was to try to slow down the quicker Yellow Jackets who wanted to run, run and run some more.

"It was one of those things where we knew coming into it that it was going to be a fast, fast pace," sophomore Jamelle Cornley told the Penn State Radio Network. "Everybody that watches the ACC knows it's a fast pace."

During the opening frame, it seemed as though Georgia Tech would get its wish. The ACC squad only led by three at half, but the pace of the game was in favor of the Yellow Jackets.

Although Georgia Tech only held a three-point lead at the break, the 37-34 score was a little high for a Penn State team used to games in the 50's and low 60's.

But, when the Lions took the court for the second half, something about this team was different from Penn State teams of the past. When other Penn State teams would fold, this squad remained calm and mounted comeback after comeback. The Lions rallied twice from down three possessions, to move within one shot of the Yellow Jackets.

But, whenever Penn State had an opportunity to take the lead, the Lions were hit hard by the turnover bug.

Turnovers were the key to the game. With the Penn State plan to run down the clock, holding the ball was essential in order to keep the ball away from the potent Georgia Tech offense. But, the Lions committed 20 turnovers, which led to 33 Yellow Jacket points.

"We had to absorb their ball pressure. There's no defense for transition," head coach Ed DeChellis told the Penn State Radio Network. "I think we gave them 15 points in easy baskets. And you cant live with 33 points off of turnovers."

Although DeChellis was disappointed with the turnovers, he was happy with his team's play, especially senior guard Ben Luber.

"I thought Ben really controlled the game for us and controlled the ball for us," DeChellis told the Penn State Radio Network. "I thought he did a great job, cause when he wasn't out there we really struggled."

Luber finished the night with nine points and nine assists, while logging 36 minutes of playing time.

The receiver of a majority of Luber's dishes was the only player who was on the court more than the senior guard. Cornley never left the court, playing all 40 minutes, on his way to a game-high 20 points, his second 20 point night of the season.

But, in the end, it was too much talent and too many athletes for the undersized, injury-plagued Lions.

And although he wasn't happy with the result, DeChellis found a lot to be excited about and is encouraged for later in the season.

"We came in here to kind of find out where we were at, and I think we've improved," DeChellis told the Penn State Radio Network. "It shows our kids we can come into this environment, this atmosphere against a top-25 basketball team and we can win."