Jackie Carmichael scored 25 against Dayton. (Photo By B Corbin/WJBC)

By The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - Jackie Carmichael scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Illinois State held off Dayton 74-73 Wednesday night.

The Redbirds (8-3) led 74-67 with 1:59 to go, but the Flyers scored six straight points, capped by Devin Oliver's layup with 35 seconds left.

"We stayed together," said Coach Dan Muller. "We've been a tough road team, we're going to be a tough road team this year. We talk about that a lot and our guys have a lot of courage."

PODCAST: Listen to Muller's postgame comments on WJBC

After Illinois State's Johnny Hill missed a free throw with 29 seconds remaining, Dayton (8-3) set up for the final shot. Oliver missed a 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left and teammate Khari Price rebounded, but his one-handed push shot would not fall at the buzzer.

"It's a culture of ours right now. Just compete, play as hard as you can no matter where you're at. Play together and play for each other. Our guys are really doing that right now," Muller said.

Price was in for leading scorer Kevin Dillard, who left the game with 4:19 to go due to back spasms.

Tyler Brown added 16 points and Jon Ekey 13 for the Redbirds, who led by 12 points early, but fell behind by four with 9:56 to go before regaining the advantage.

Dillard and Dyshawn Pierre led Dayton with 14 points apiece.

Paul Morello contributed to this report.