Stanford freshman Ebuka Okorie scored 26 points in his debut, and the host Cardinal answered repeated runs from Portland State in an 89-79 win on Tuesday in the teams’ season opener.
The Cardinal built second-half leads of 14 and 15 points en route to the program’s 15th straight home-opening win. The victory did not come without struggle, however, as Portland State twice whittled the deficit to single-digit margins behind 13-of-27 3-point shooting.
The Vikings’ Sebastian Tidor came off the bench to shoot 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, including hitting consecutive attempts to ignite a 12-2 run early in the second half. He ignited a spurt that pulled Portland State to within four.
Stanford responded with a 15-6 run midway through the half to push the lead back to 15. Tidor capped a 13-6 Portland State answer with a 3-pointer, part of his team-high 22 points, but after trimming the deficit to nine, the Vikings could get no closer.
Okorie’s record-setting performance on 9-of-17 field-goal shooting helped the Cardinal keep Portland State at bay down the stretch. Okorie also grabbed seven rebounds to match AJ Rohosy’s team-high, dished two assists and notched a pair of steals.
Benny Gealer collected another five steals as the Cardinal forced the Vikings into 21 turnovers that Stanford converted into 25 points. Gealer finished with 12 points and Chisom Okpara scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Jaylin Henderson joined Tidor scoring in double-digits for Portland State with 19, getting to the foul line for 8-of-11 free-throw shooting. The rest of the Vikings combined to attempt just five more foul shots.
Stanford, meanwhile, went 29-of-36 at the charity stripe. Alex Dupre and Tre-Vaughn Minott both fouled out for Portland State, while preseason All-Big Sky Conference honoree Terri Miller Jr. played much of the second half with four personal fouls.
Despite the foul trouble, Miller shot 3-of-5 from 3-point distance on the way to 14 points.
–Field Level Media
