DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Marques Bennet scored all five of his points in the final 38 seconds to help Dayton hold off Xavier 59-55 on Saturday.
Dayton trailed 55-53 when Bennett scored on a driving layup and then added a free throw for a one-point lead.
Xavier's Dedrick Finn then misfired with 9.6 seconds remaining and fouled Bennett who grabbed the rebound. Bennett made two more from the line to put the Flyers up by three points.
The Musketeers never got off the potential tying 3-pointer. There was a wild scramble for a loose ball that ended with a tie-up with less than a second remaining and the possession arrow favored Dayton. Brian Roberts then hit one of two free throws to end the scoring.
The victory pushed Dayton (15-8, 8-4) into sole possession of second place in the Atlantic 10's West Division behind George Washington. Xavier (13-10, 7-5) dropped a game behind Dayton. The top two teams in each division get first-round byes in the conference tournament.
Monty Scott scored 12 points and Roberts had 10 for the Flyers. Justin Cage had 16 points and Justin Doellman 15 for the Musketeers.
Xavier led for most of the first half and had a nine-point advantage with 3 minutes remaining but with five true freshmen on the floor, Dayton scored 11 of the last 12 points in the half to take a one-point lead.
