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March 5, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI — Dante Jackson scored Xavier’s first 11 points for a lead that held, and the Musketeers (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 17 AP) beat Dayton 76-59 on Thursday night for their third straight Atlantic 10 regular-season championship.

Xavier (24-5, 12-3) joined a short list of A10 heavyweights — no one has dominated like this since UMass and Temple in the 1990s.

No one loses the way Dayton does whenever it makes the hour-long bus ride down Interstate 75.

The Flyers (24-6, 10-5) haven’t beaten Xavier in Cincinnati since 1981, losing their last 24 games on whatever court happens to be Xavier’s home. The mind-boggling streak went on despite 19 points by Marcus Johnson.

On a night when Xavier honored its two seniors, the underclassmen kept them ahead most of the game. Jackson led the way, finishing with 14 points.