Jackson scores 19, Xavier beats Dayton 78-74 for 25th straight win over Flyers on home court

Jackson scores 19, Xavier beats Dayton 78-74

CINCINNATI — Dante Jackson scored a career-high 19 points Saturday, and Xavier was nearly flawless at the foul line, holding on for a 78-74 victory over Dayton that extended one of the longest streaks of futility in college basketball.

Dayton (13-4, 2-1 Atlantic 10) hasn’t beaten the Musketeers on their home court since Jan. 10, 1981, losing in their last 25 trips down Interstate 75. The coaches, players and even the arenas have changed, but never the outcome.

Jackson steadied the Musketeers (12-5, 4-0) while leading scorer Jordan Crawford was on the bench in early foul trouble. Crawford hit the clinching shot, a fadeaway jumper with 14 seconds left that made it 76-71. Marcus Johnson hit a 3 for Dayton with 1.9 seconds left, but Terrell Holloway made two free throws to finish it.

Xavier went 24 of 30 from the free-throw line, while Dayton was 16-of-25. Johnson led Dayton with 16 points.