DAYTON, Ohio — Ten down, one to go.

One last foe. One final enemy. One concluding matchup.

Before Big East play begins, Marquette men’s basketball (9-1) has its culminating non-conference bout Saturday at Dayton (8-2), the last in the 6th ranked Golden Eagles’ long line of formidable early season opponents, all but one of whom they’ve adeptly dealt with.

Refresh your browser to follow beat writer Jack Albright’s live updates during the game.

Dayton closes game early in second half

It was one bad thing after another for Marquette at the start of the second half.

Kam Jones picked up his third foul. The Golden Eagles went on a 2:30 scoring drought. Dayton went on a 7-0 run. The game was down to two possessions, Marquette leading 69-63.

Before the Golden Eagles could blink, the Flyers flew to the basket, starting the second half 5-of-9 and 2-of-4 from deep, forcing a quick timeout from Shaka Smart.

Marquette forcing Dayton misses, holding 10-point halftime lead

The Golden Eagles’ defense forced the Flyers to enter the locker room with a less than attractive shooting split.

After 20 minutes, Dayton was an unsightly 9-for-25 from the floor and 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, with Javon Bennett the only Flyer to make a three.

Marquette held a 36-26 lead at halftime after Chase Ross went the length of the floor and dropped in a last second layup, which Shaka Smart celebrated by running to halfcourt and congratulating him. He led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, shooting an efficient 3-for-5.

Marquette’s defense limiting Dayton

The Flyers have lived outside the arc.

If squatter’s rights were a thing on a basketball court, they’d be lifetime residents based solely off how they started Saturday’s game.

Marquette’s defense was not letting Dayton penetrate, instead forcing passes on the perimeter which were followed up by a missed shot.

The Flyers were 0-for-7 from deep before making their first 3-pointer, and the Golden Eagles used their defense to create multiple 2+ minute scoring droughts. It led to a 10-0 run and an early 18-5 lead, which hovered around double-digits ever since.