CLARION, Pa. – Junior guard John Bayardelle scored a game- and career-high 25 points Wednesday night but could not lead the Slippery Rock University men's basketball team to victory.

Hosting Clarion University, behind an attack that featured six double-figure scorers,  handed The Rock their second straight loss, an 88-75 setback in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division action.

With the win, Clarion (14-7 overall, 10-5 PSAC) took over sole possession of third place in the PSAC-West standings at the midway mark of the division schedule.

The Rock (12-7, 9-6), meanwhile, stands alone in fourth place in the division standings.  That is significant because the top four teams in the division at the end of regular-season action earn berths in the conference tournament.

SRU, which claimed conference runner-up honors last winter, seeks its third PSAC playoff berth in the last four seasons.

Defending conference champion Indiana, Pa. (15-4, 13-2) held a one-game lead over second-place Mercyhurst (14-5, 12-3) at the end of the first half of this year's PSAC-West schedule.

California, Pa. (11-10, 8-7), Edinboro (10-9, 8-7) and Gannon (10-9, 8-7) were tied for fifth place, one game behind The Rock, while Lock Haven (0-18, 0-15) sat in the division cellar.

SRU, which allowed a season-high amount of points Wednesday night, opens the second half of the division schedule Saturday with a 3 p.m. home game vs. Mercyhurst in Morrow Field House before traveling to Lock Haven and Edinboro for back-to-back games next week.

Aubin Reeves scored 15 points Wednesday night, Tommy Kelly added 11 points and Tabari Perry finished with nine points and nine rebounds to support Bayardelle in The Rock attack. Devin Taylor, The Rock's leading scorer and rebounder, was saddled with foul trouble for most of the second half of action and finished the game with nine points and six rebounds.

Winfield Willis scored a team-high 22 points for Clarion. Paul McQueen added 17 points and Bud Teer recorded a 15-point, 17-rebound “double-double.” Mike Kromka had 12 points and seven rebounds, Calvin Edwards scored 12 points and Leonard Patterson added 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers.

The Rock finished the game with a 38% (23-60) efficiency on its field-goal attempts with a 9-of-27 showing from 3-point range and an impressive 20-of-24 (83%) effort from the foul line.

Clarion made 51% (30-59) of its action shots with a 3-of-6 effort from beyond the arc and canned 25 of 37 (68%) free throws.

The hosts held a 41-34 advantage on the backboards to become only the second team to outrebound The Rock this season.

SRU committed 10 turnovers compared to six for Clarion.

The game started with four lead changes in the opening four minutes before Reeves scored seven unanswered points to singlehandedly carry The Rock to a 12-7 advantage with 15:45 left in the first half.

The Rock remained in the lead for the next 10 minutes before Clarion closed out the opening stanza with a 17-6 run to take a 40-32 lead into the intermission.

The Golden Eagles never trailed in the final 25 minutes of action and held a pair of 15-point advantages in the final minute of the game.

SRU made 37% (10-27) of its field-goal attempts in the opening half with a 4-of-12 effort from 3-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 efficiency from the foul line.

Clarion hit 48% (16-33) of its action shots in the first half with a 2-of-4 showing from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were six of 11 (55%) from the foul line.

The hosts held a 21-16 rebounding advantage at the intermission and had less turnovers by a 6-3 count.