CLARION, Pa. - Despite 23 points from senior Ky Mauras (Reading, Pa./Reading), the Bloomsburg University men's basketball team dropped its fourth straight game on Wednesday night as it suffered an 86-76 setback at Clarion University. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 7-11 overall and 4-8 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, improved to 4-14 overall and 2-9 in the PSAC West.

Mauras went 8-of-13 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range, and 5-of-7 from the foul line en route to his fourth 20-point effort over the last five games and his sixth such performance of the season. Mauras is now 106 points shy of becoming the 30th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Freshman Justin Anderson (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) was the only other Bloomsburg player in double figures as he finished with 13 points on the evening. Redshirt junior Peyton Mortellite (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) and sophomore Travis Elmore (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) added nine points apiece while redshirt junior Max Wagner (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) chipped in with seven. Freshman Jake Nelson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester Rustin) scored a career-high six points as he continues to see more playing time.

The teams were tied, 37-37, at halftime before the Golden Eagles outscored the Huskies, 49-39, in the second half. Bloomsburg, unfortunately, had no answer for Stevan Rodriguez over the course of the final 20 minutes as the Clarion forward scored 21 of his career-high 26 points in the second stanza.

Clarion led 34-30 late in the first half before the Huskies scored seven of the game's next ten points to even the game at 37-37 as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms. Mortellite started the rally with a triple while Elmore and Mauras added baskets in the closing minute to square the contest.

The second half started slowly as Clarion scored the first three points in three-and-a-half minutes to take a 40-37 lead with 16:30 remaining. Wagner finally got the Huskies on the board in the second half to cut the deficit to one. At the first media timeout - with 14:56 left in regulation - the teams combined for 13 points as the Golden Eagles held a 45-43 advantage.

It would take nearly 90 seconds before either team scored again as Clarion's Elijah Cottrill hit a pair of foul shots to give the hosts a 47-43 lead with 13:34 remaining. The Golden Eagles eventually built the lead to eight with 9:48 left but the Huskies stayed within striking distance and, following a three-pointer from junior Ethan Houston (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle), trailed 68-63 with 6:29 remaining. However, Cottrill buried a triple and Rodriguez to push the margin to 10 with just under five minutes left.

The Huskies had one more rally attempt as a triple from Mortellite and a pair of free throws from Anderson pulled Bloomsburg to within five, 75-70, with three minutes remaining. But, the Golden Eagles, who shot nearly 60% from the field in the second half, went on a 7-2 run in just over a minute to extend their advantage to 10 with 1:43 left. The teams exchanged baskets the rest of the way as Clarion earned its second consecutive victory.

Bloomsburg went 28-of-62 (45.2%) from the field, 6-of-16 (37.5%) from deep, and 14-of-18 (77.8%) from the foul line. Clarion, meanwhile, shot 31-of-61 (50.8%) from the field, 10-of-18 (55.6%) from beyond the arc, and 14-of-21 (66.7%) from the stripe. The Huskies held a slight 35-34 edge in rebounding.

Three others joined Rodriguez in double figures for Clarion.

The Huskies will look to snap their four-game losing skid when they entertain West Chester University at the Nelson Field House on Saturday, January 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.