Thinking you're going to be up against a 'pretty easy' guild is one of the downfalls. Always expect that you will be matched against the toughest opponent. Would you plan your setup any differently otherwise? Did you stagger and place Strong D teams similar to your opponent?
The Biggest mistake IMO was thinking you're always up against an easy team. With that mentality, group wide, will spread into over-confidence, and complacent aggressive tactics. Player mentality becomes soft. Hit arena teams, where you are trying new ways to counter, with less squad power or full key group compositions.
My guess, you were at a disadvantage; how you may ask? Their guild had a better concentration of powerful toons to use, instead of a Inventory of half-developed, under-specialized, low-tier characters that raised your guilds active power.
Could your opponent of cheated? Of course, there's always a possibility, but i doubt it. And assuming they cheated... you will think you did everything fine? ...you'll win with the same strategy and mind set next Territory Wars? Please, always work on becoming better and learning from not only your last defeat but from wins as well.
I wish your TW's will become stronger and fun. My guild is undefeated in 40m-50m brackets since TW release. We will lose eventually, but until then, we've been learning and trying different Setup Phases, and found that Strong Defense is the best Offense. Remember the Max teams per node. Remind your guild to save 30-38 Strong Offense to break thru any Staggered Resistence, yes, 30-38 is Overkill, but it all depends on your direction. Is your Guild Stronger with their Ships? Or are Character Squads More viable? That should always take heed in the direction you choose to pave.
Communication is Key, and unfortunately this game severely lacks in that department.