After playing its first seven games of the season away from home, Benedictine (6-2) came out a touch sluggish out of the gate, as St. Mary's (0-7) scored the first seven points of the game, including five from Eric Lear. Trailing 10-4, the host Eagles went on a 14-0 run over a three-minute span to take the lead for good. Matt Harrison and Jordan Dunsmore each had five points in the run.
Brensley Haywood cut Benedictine's advantage to 18-15 with a 3-pointer at the 12:30 mark, but the hosts countered with a 9-0 run, fueled by six points from Jackson, to take a 27-15 lead. The Eagles never by led by less than five points the rest of the first half, and took a 41-33 advantage into the locker room.
Jackson scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but St. Mary's got to within 58-52 on a jumper from Eric Lear. The visiting Cardinals trailed by a 68-60 count before Benedictine put away the game for good with an 8-0 run, with four points coming from Zach Ramey.
Benedictine held a double-digut lead until the final minute of the game, when St. Mary's cut its deficit to eight points. However, the Eagles made 9-of-13 free throws in the final three minutes to secure its third straight home-opening win.
Jackson, who had set a career high with 26 points in a loss at Eastern Illinois University earlier in the week, made 9-of-13 shots from the field and converted 14-of-18 free throws on his way to 32 points. He also added six assists, two assists and a pair of blocks.
Ramey hit 9-of-12 free throws himself on his way to 20 points, which tied a career-high. He also added seven assists and committed only one turnover. Will Crawford and Harrison added 13 and 11 points, respectively in the win.
Benedictine held a huge advantage at the foul line, converting 36-of-47 freebies in the game, compared to St. Mary's 14-of-16 effort. The visitors stayed in the game with solid 3-point shooting, as they hit 11-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Lear and Dan Kloak led St. Mary's with 22 and 21 points, respectively, in a losing effort.
Benedictine returns to the road on Dec. 18, when it makes a short trip for a game at North Park University.