Benedictine (12-3, 2-0 NIIC) trailed by a 6-0 score in the first 90 seconds of the game, but quickly knotted the game, with Crawford scoring four of the Eagles' first six points. Chris Kolle gave Clarke (10-4, 0-1 NIIC) an 11-10 advantage, but Mike Shimkus gave the visitors a 13-11 lead with a 3-pointer on the following possession, and Benedictine did not trail for the final 30 minutes of the game.
Two free throws from Jackson and a conventional three-point play from Zach Ramey pushed Benedictine's lead from 18-15 to 23-15 with five minutes remaining in the first half. The Eagles led by as many as nine points on a pair of occasions the rest of the first stanza, but settled for a 35-27 halftime break after Shimkus hit a pair of free throws with a second left in the half.
Jackson opened the second half with a pair of baskets and Jimmy Franklin added another score to push the Eagles' lead to 41-27 less than two minutes into the second stanza. Benedictine led by no fewer than seven points for the next six minutes, and held a 49-39 lead after a basket and free throw from Jordan Dunsmore with 13 minutes remaining.
Clarke cut its deficit to five points with under nine minutes left, but Benedictine went back up by 11 (61-50) two minutes later when Jackson scored three straight points by splitting two free throws and hitting a jumper. The Eagles held a 66-55 lead with less than five minutes remaining before Clarke rattled off a 14-4 run - with eight points from Joemi Byrd - to close to within a point (70-69) with 1:44 left.
Benedictine scored the next five points as Crawford hit 3-of-4 free throws and Jackson scored a bucket to push the visitors' lead out to 75-69. Byrd hit a trey to get Clarke to within three points with less than 15 seconds remaining, but Crawford and Dunsmore each hit a pair of freebies to seal up the win.
Ramey (11 points) joined Crawford and Jackson in double figures for Benedictine, which moved to 12-1 this season when at least three players score in double digits. Benedictine got a huge lift from its bench, which outscored its counterparts by a 17-4 margin. Shimkus scored eight points (all in the first half), while Dunsmore added seven to lead the bench effort.
Byrd scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, while Kolle added 18. Clarke put four starters in double figures, but managed to hit just 2-of-19 3-pointers in the loss.
Benedictine returns home following a two-game road trip to host Eureka College on Saturday, Jan. 15.