HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.—The defining moment of the Chicago Invitational for the men's basketball team should have come in the third round, against Northern Iowa, when senior guard Dominic James was thrown to the ground chasing a loose ball in the first half.

That event sparked the main portion of a 32-8 run the Golden Eagles used to start the game, and prompted coach Buzz Williams to say afterward, "The best thing these guys do, is love one another."

Instead the defining moment for Marquette (5-1) came in the closing minutes of an 89-75 final-round loss to Dayton (6-0). With the game all but decided, James and fellow guard Wesley Matthews each fired a 3-point shot during one possession. Neither scared the hoop, and Marquette shot just 4-of-20 (20 percent) from three in the game – including a 1-for-9 (11.1 percent) mark in the second half.

"It's definitely a disappointment, we definitely felt like we had it handed to us," James said. "We really didn't play our game, and they beat us on the stats that don't show up on the stat sheet.

"We just have to continue to play to our strengths, and obviously our strength is getting to the basket. I don't think we did that enough."

In Chicago Invitational wins against Chicago State (106-87), Texas Southern (85-68) and Northern Iowa (73-43) Marquette averaged 23 3-point attempts per game, and made 42 percent of those attempts. After the game against Northern Iowa, Williams seemed content with his team's shot selection.

"We took 27 (3-pointers), and nobody is asking me why we took 27," Williams said. "Nobody is asking me, because nobody thought they were bad shots."

But against Dayton, Marquette's big guns—James (2-of-6), Matthews (0-for-3) and Jerel McNeal (1-of-8)—struggled from behind the 3-point line. What made it worse was that the Flyers owned a 44-36 advantage on points in the paint.

"They were doing exactly what we wanted to do to them," James said. "They were driving the basketball."

Again and again Dayton—led by guard Rob Lowery (21 points)—was able to penetrate Marquette's perimeter defense, leading to easy baskets in the post or second-chance points.

"Most of their baskets came in the paint, and that's where we're most vulnerable," Williams said. "A lot of people think it's our inside, or lack thereof of an inside presence from a defensive perspective, but the thing is they weren't throwing the ball inside, they were penetrating the ball inside.

"We have to keep the ball out of the paint whether it's the pass or the bounce."

The Golden Eagles were further hurt by foul trouble—compounded slightly when they began fouling nearly every possession with 4:30 left in the second half—as forward Lazar Hayward fouled out after playing just 24 minutes.

That weakened Marquette's already suspect frontcourt and underscored the effect of injuries to forwards Chris Otule (foot) and Joseph Fulce (shin). The Golden Eagles' bench was outscored by Dayton 48-5 Saturday.

"We have a very small margin of error, and we can't stand any error out of our best four players," Williams said.

The loss was enough to erase the good feelings that came with Marquette's 5-0 start and three convincing wins to start the Chicago Invitational.

"I don't know if I'm mad, I'm a little upset with the way we played," Hayward said. "I think any time we don't hook up as a team…we won't win many games."