Before Syracuse took on Seton Hall on Sunday, Quentin Hillsman preached to his players about staying positive during a team meeting. Hillsman knew the Orange needed to play with confidence at all times after losing its previous two Big East games.

SU was tested by the Pirates on the court — trailing by four with 1:24 left in the game — but the Orange scored the final eight points to erase the deficit for the victory.

‘We didn’t think we would deal with that immediately,’ Hillsman said in a phone interview, ‘but obviously we dealt with that on the same day, just staying positive and believing you can close out the game.’

Syracuse (13-7, 2-4 Big East) got back on track in conference play with a 70-66 win over Seton Hall (7-13, 0-6) in South Orange, N.J., on Sunday. Syracuse used a balanced scoring effort and an aggressive rebounding performance to keep pace with the Pirates throughout the game. The Orange then overcame a 17-0 run by Seton Hall in the second half with a sequence of big plays on the offensive end late.

The Orange built a 55-45 lead seven minutes into the second half after Elashier Hall hit a 3-pointer. But Syracuse went cold, and Seton Hall scored 17 unanswered points to take a seven-point lead during a 5:30 stretch.

SU kept it close, but was never able to even the score, and the Orange entered the final minute down by four.

Then Hall drilled another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 66-65. Hillsman called a timeout and put on the full-court press, resulting in a crucial turnover to regain possession.

‘Obviously, making solid plays and playing clean basketball is what wins games,’ Hillsman said. ‘And I thought that Lacey came out and made a huge shot, and then after that when you talk about the turnover and capitalizing on the offensive end — that was the key of the game.’

On the Orange’s ensuing possession, Syracuse grabbed three offensive rebounds following three missed layups before Hall came through again. She went up with the rebound and drew a foul. She made the first free throw to tie the game but missed the second.

Iasia Hemingway was there to clean up the miss with another rebound and layup to give Syracuse a 68-66 lead. Hemingway added a free throw, and Seton Hall missed a 3-point attempt with five seconds left that would have tied the game.

‘We really crashed the boards and took more opportunities,’ Hillsman said, ‘so we really played strong and really made sure that we took advantage of our opportunities.’

For Hillsman, the win showed the Orange could close out games despite its poor play recently. Syracuse finally executed its game plan built around rebounding and its inside play to get the win. Kayla Alexander led the team with 23 points, Hemingway added 18 and Hall provided much-needed support on the perimeter with 14.

The head coach was pleased with his players’ aggressive effort that came with an increased confidence on the court. Even trailing with less than a minute to play, the Orange stayed calm, executed and made the clutch plays to come out on top.

‘We understand how important it is not to lose games that you have a great opportunity to win,’ Hillsman said. ‘We thought this was a great game for us to come out and play hard and be aggressive and pretty much get some confidence back in what we do.’

rjgery@syr.edu

 

Published on January 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu