Benedictine (16-5, 6-2 NIIC) won for the second time in as many games after dropping close decisions at Aurora and Rockford College last week. Clarke (15-5, 5-2 NIIC), meanwhile, had its five-game win streak snapped; the Crusaders had not lost since a 79-72 loss to Benedictine in their NIIC opener on Jan. 12.
Grnant Cirks gave Clarke a 10-7 lead less than five minutes into the game with a trey, but Mike Shimkus started a 15-2 run that spanned nearly eight minutes and gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game (22-12) with seven minutes left in the half. Matt Harrison scored five points in the spurt, capping it with a trey.
Clarke scored nine of the next 12 points to get to within three (24-21) with less than five minutes remaining in the half, and Joemi Byrd got the Crusaders within two points twice in the last two minutes. A Jordan Dunsmore putback in the final minute sent Benedictine to the locker room with a 30-26 advantage.
The second half was a nip-and-tuck affair throughout. Clarke took its first lead since the opening minutes on a Chris Kilburg bucket four minutes in, but Tim Swanson started a 13-6 run that gave Benedictine a 46-41 lead with a trey on the ensuing possession; Harrison had eight points himself in the spurt. Clarke bounced right back, however, as Joemi Byrd hit a triple of his own and Hiraman Byrd converted on a conventional three-point play to stake the Crusaders to a 48-47 advantage just more than eight minutes into the half.
Neither team led by more than two points over the next seven minutes, which included three lead changes and three ties. Tied at 55-55 with five minutes remaining, Benedictine came out of a timeout with Marcus Jackson converting a lay-up off a set play. Swanson had a steal and lay-up on the next possession, and Jackson added another bucket to give the Eagles a 61-55 lead.
DeMonte Bynum cut Clarke's deficit to 61-59 with a pair of free throws with less than three minutes to go, but Zach Ramey hit a tough fadeaway baseline jumper a minute later to push Benedictine's lead back to 63-59. Clarke's Chris Kolle followed with a trey, but Ramey drove the lane and found Brice Amelianovich for a lay-up with 1:17 left.
Hiraman Byrd drove the lane for a lay-up with less than a minute to go to get Clarke to within a point at 65-64. Benedictine ran the shot clock down before taking a timeout, but turned the ball over on the inbounds play. Hiraman Byrd missed a driving lay-up attempt at the other end with 15 seconds left, and after Kolle collected the offensive rebound, mishandled an entry pass for a turnover.
Harrison was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play, but missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving Clarke a last chance to win the game. Benedictine knocked the ball out of bounds twice before Cirks missed a desperation 3-point try from 35 feet at the buzzer.
Harrison led all scorers with 22 points; he had 11 in the nine minutes of the second half. Jackson collected his fourth consecutive double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 boards. The Eagles got scoring from all nine players that saw action in the game, and shot 58 percent from the field in the second half.
Joemi (16) and Hiraman (15) Byrd led Clarke with 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Kilburg added 11. The Crusaders made 6-of-13 free throws in the loss.
Benedictine will play its third game in six days on Monday, Feb. 7, when it hosts Rockford; the Eagles dropped a 68-61 decision to the Regents on the road on Jan. 29.