When a star gets going, it’s a thing of beauty.

It’s like no one else is there; nothing the defense throws at them fazes them, no amount of defenders in their face.

LSU, though, wishes it wasn’t watching an opposing team’s player catch fire.

As LSU played in the ACC-SEC Challenge against Syracuse, Orange star sophomore Judah Mintz took over, accounting for 24 straight Syracuse points during a 10-minute stretch, either scoring himself or assisting on all of them.

Mintz’s spurt extended from the 5:58 mark of the first half to the 14:28 point of the second half. At the beginning of that run, the game was tied 21-21. By the end of it, Syracuse led 47-36.

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Freshman point guard Mike Williams III has been impactful this season on the defensive end, but he and the rest of LSU’s perimeter defenders struggled mightily containing Mintz, who finished with 33 points.

Mintz beat defenders off the dribble with ease to attack the basket, and he did much of his damage from the free throw line. LSU’s defenders were extremely undisciplined, and Mintz drew fouls as defenders didn’t stay vertical meeting him at the rim or didn’t keep square as they slid their feet to contain his drive.

That produced 15 free throws for Mintz, who made 13 of them. Syracuse, the vastly more aggressive team, shot 19 of 23 from the free throw line as a team, compared to seven of 10 for LSU.

When Mintz’s 10-minute, one-man show finally came to a close, Syracuse didn’t slow down. The Orange’s ball movement looked far more sophisticated than LSU’s and they started to get hot from outside as they pulled away for the 80-57 win.

Syracuse finished with 16 assists as a team and shot 11 for 21 from the 3-point line.

LSU couldn’t match that offense, struggling to establish anything all game.

The Tigers’ identity this season has been attacking the paint. Coming into the game, 68.2% of its shot attempts had been inside the arc, with LSU having shot just 17.7 3-point attempts per game, No. 313 in the country.

That approach was difficult against Syracuse. At 7 feet 4 inches, center Naheem McLeod is one of few players who can physically tower over Will Baker, and he stifled LSU’s leading scorer.

When McLeod was on the court, he acted as a deterrent; the Tigers were extremely hesitant to take shots inside. McLeod stayed glued to the paint as a rim protector, even leaving Baker, a talented shooter, open on the perimeter on some occasions.

Baker’s usually a player who can take advantage of wide open 3-point looks, but he was 0 for 2 from beyond the arc on Tuesday.

As a team, LSU was extremely cold from outside, but because of McLeod’s presence and a big deficit, the Tigers were forced to break their tendencies and hoist 22 3-point shots on the game. They made just two of them.

Jordan Wright in particular had a rough day shooting, going one for nine on his 3-pointers.

LSU stayed afloat in the first half, finding themselves down just 33-28. The Tigers had a little more success when McLeod would go to the bench, but offensive sloppiness caught up to them.

With a significant size advantage over Syracuse aside from McLeod, LSU came up with 13 offensive rebounds, but failed to capitalize, with only six second-chance points. They weren’t aggressive going back up with the ball and wasted those valuable opportunities.

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LSU also had 19 turnovers in the game. Its ball movement was predictable and seemed to lack intention, making it easy for Syracuse defenders to disrupt the play or force an inefficient shot.

In every game this year, LSU had at least shown fight. Even in a loss to Nicholls, the Tigers came back from down 24. They were in it all the way in their other loss to a tough Dayton team, being downed by a last-second 3-pointer.

In this game, LSU was blitzed off the court. The Tigers looked disorganized and outmatched, a disappointing performance for a team that looked to have made strides from last year as it competed closely against quality teams in last weekend’s Charleston Classic.

LSU will get a chance to get back on track on Friday, hosting Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m.