Ebuka Okorie attacking the rim. Credit: Zach Reynolds/GoStanford.com

On Saturday, Stanford men’s basketball defeated Colorado in the Hall of Fame Series at the Phoenix Suns’ arena (Mortgage Matchup Center) by a final score of 77-68. After missing a couple games due to a lower body injury, Stanford freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie stole the show for the Cardinal, scoring a program freshman-record 32 points on 6-13 shooting from the field, 2-5 shooting from 3-point range, and 18-21 shooting from the foul line. Stanford senior guard Benny Gealer (13 points & 4 rebounds) and senior forward Chisom Okpara (11 & 5 rebounds) also finished in double figures for the Cardinal. Colorado junior guard Barrington Hargress was the top performer for the Buffaloes with 16 points and six assists. Stanford improves to 10-2 on the season while Colorado falls to 10-2.

BOX SCORE: Colorado vs. Stanford-Saturday, December 20th

Colorado led Stanford 16–14 with 11:18 remaining in the half. Sebastian Rancik had led the Buffalos with five points while Ebuka Okorie had gotten off to a hot start for the Cardinal with eight points. Colorado was shooting 7-14 from the field while Stanford was shooting 4-10.

Stanford and Colorado were tied at 20 with 7:46 left in the half. Okorie had reached 13 points for the Cardinal. He had made his presence felt immediately.

Colorado led Stanford 31–24 with 3:52 remaining in the half. Barrington Hargress and Sebastian Rancik had led Colorado with nine points each. The Buffs had gotten things going a bit. Stanford needed to answer.

Colorado led Stanford 35–33 at halftime. The Cardinal were only down by two points at the break as Okorie had reached 13 points. Colorado was shooting 52% from the field while Stanford was shooting 37%. Given the gap in shooting percentages, Stanford had to feel good to only be down by two points.

Stanford led Colorado 43–37 with 15:55 left in the game. The Cardinal had gone on a 9-0 run over the previous 2:47. Okorie had reached 15 points for the Cardinal while Gealer had scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting from deep.

Stanford led Colorado 51–43 with 11:33 remaining. Chisom Okpara had come alive for the Cardinal with 11 points and four rebounds. He had hit a huge 3-pointer and a transition bucket. He had also just gone 1-2 at the charity stripe.

Stanford led Colorado 59–46 with 7:52 left. Okorie had scored 22 points. He had simply been sensational. Colorado needed to put a run together to get back in the game. Stanford was shooting 7-19 from 3-point range; Colorado on the other hand was an icy cold 2-13 from beyond the arc.

Stanford led Colorado 69–61 with 2:01 remaining. Okorie had scored 28 points. He was really carrying the load for the Cardinal. Colorado was hoping to pull off a comeback, but time was not on their side.

In the end, Stanford defeated Colorado 77–68.  Ebuka Okorie walked out with 32 points. That was not only a career high, but also a Stanford freshman record, surpassing the record set by Kanaan Caryle, who dropped 31 points on The Farm in an 89-75 loss to Washington State, who ironically was coached at the time by Stanford’s current head coach Kyle Smith. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.

For Stanford, this is a really nice win. BetMGM had Colorado favored to win by 4.5 points and in the end, Stanford won by nine points. That’s a decisive victory. Okorie stole the show and once again showed why he is legitimately one of the top freshmen in the country. They built a commanding lead and finished strong, not opening the door for the Buffaloes to make it interesting at the end. Just all-around a great victory for the Cardinal.

Up next for Stanford is a home game against CSUN on Saturday, December 27th at 5:00 PM PT on ACCNX. That will be the final game before conference play begins.

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