Freshman sensation Ebuka Okorie leads Stanford past Montana

Ebuka Okorie pumped in 29 points and Stanford had several big scoring bursts in a 91-68 victory against Montana on Saturday at Stanford, Calif.

Benny Gealer added 13 points, and AJ Rohosy and Aidan Cammann each had 12 points for the Cardinal (2-0), who made 10 shots from 3-point range after a slow start from the perimeter.

Okorie, a freshman, was 11-for-16 from the field with a pair of 3s, while Gealer drained three 3-pointers. Okorie became Stanford's first freshman with back-to-back games of 20-plus points since 2020. Cammann joined Okorie with a career-high point total.

Money Williams heated up in the second half and finished with 19 points for the Grizzlies (2-1), who were charged with 20 turnovers. Brooklyn Hicks provided 13 points off the bench while Kenyon Aguino and Te'Jon Sawyer each ended up with 12 points.

Okorie and Gealer connected on 3-pointers to kick off a 12-0 run in the second half as the lead grew to 88-61. There was a five-minute stretch in the closing minutes when the Cardinal hit four threes.

Montana was 6-for-20 from the perimeter, but ball handling might have been a bigger issue. Okorie collected four of Stanford's 14 steals.

The Grizzlies made 16 of 17 free-throw attempts, compared to Stanford's 9-for-15 on foul shots.

Stanford held a 35-25 halftime lead, largely because of its defense. The Cardinal was 3-for-12 (25%) on first-half 3-point attempts, but Montana shot 41.7% from the field. Okorie and Sawyer led all players with eight points apiece at the break.

Stanford scored the game's first nine points with baskets by four different players. Then the Cardinal became bogged down on offense as Montana pulled within 15-14 before Jeremy Dent-Smith's 3-pointer.

The next time the Grizzlies closed within two points, Gealer drained a 3-pointer.

--Field Level Media