Quentin Hillsman refused to use the word. Despite an early 18-2 run from Brigham Young that gave the Cougars a 15-point lead and an eventual 24-point loss for his team to dwell on during a long flight back from Hawaii, Hillsman couldn’t say his team felt demoralized.

For the first time this season, Syracuse was on the wrong side of a blowout.

‘We just knew we had to take one possession at a time, and we never got it going,’ Hillsman said. ‘At no point did we feel demoralized or gave up on the game because we knew we had to keep fighting and get back in the game. We just didn’t have it today.’

The Orange (6-2) fell 83-59 to Brigham Young (7-2) on Saturday in the final game of the Hukilau Invitational in Laie, Hawaii. It was the second consecutive loss for SU, as it suffered an 80-74 loss to Arizona in the tournament on Friday in a bizarre game was halted twice because of power outages. BYU’s efficient performance on offense was the difference as the Cougars shot 49 percent from the field and went 11-of-26 for 42 percent from beyond the arc.

Hillsman said after the game against BYU that having to be in the gym longer than expected the day before, combined with not having much time for game preparation, added some difficulty to preparing for the Cougars. 

‘I think one thing that was tough was that quick turnaround,’ Hillsman said. ‘We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare as far as game prep is concerned, and they had a day off in between. I think that was a big advantage going into the game.’

Hillsman said BYU was quick in transition and kept the ball moving constantly to keep the Orange’s defense off balance and spread out. The Cougars moved quickly up the floor and shot well in transition, Hillsman said, and the Orange’s zone never managed to put a clamp on BYU’s shooters.

Brigham Young had four players who scored in the double digits. Syracuse, on the other hand, shot 37 percent from the field and went 0-of-7 from 3-point range.

‘They did a really good job of executing, and they really got the ball down the floor and got the ball moving,’ Hillsman said. ‘It’s tough to guard when you’re trying to press and they’re moving the ball quickly and you’re trying to get into your defense.’

SU center Kayla Alexander was the lone bright spot for the Orange, scoring a game-high 26 points and grabbing a team-high six rebounds.

In the end, Alexander’s performance was essentially wasted, though. Hillsman said knowing she can still play that way in such a lopsided game sent a message.

‘It’s good for us because at least you understand that she can still do that no matter what the situation of the game is,’ Hillsman said.

The game wrapped up a four-game road trip in which the Orange went 2-2 after beating Binghamton and Boise State in the first two games.

SU opens up its Big East schedule Wednesday against West Virginia, and Hillsman said the trip against solid competition was good preparation for conference play.

‘Overall, it was a good trip for us to get out and play two tough teams,’ Hillsman said. ‘And we know we have to come back and play better if we expect to beat West Virginia.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on December 4, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman