PALM DESERT, Calif. – Stanford men’s basketball opened its Thanksgiving tournament with a strong performance, defeating Minnesota in the opening round of the Acrisure Invitational, 72-68. Stanford improved to 5-1 on the season with the win, and advanced to the tournament championship game to face Saint Louis.
Ebuka Okorie led the scoring with a game-high 25 points, marking his fifth 20-point contest of the season, on 9-for-21 shooting including a pair of 3-pointers to go with four rebounds. Benny Gealer scored 14 points, including four makes from 3-point range, with five assists and four steals, while Chisom Okpara finished in double figures with 11. Aidan Cammann ended with nine points and a game-leading seven rebounds, while AJ Rohosy had eight on 4-for-4 shooting.
Stanford scored 18 second-chance points and held a plus-11 margin on the glass, including 17 offensive rebounds that led to 22 more shot attempts for the Cardinal than the Golden Gophers (4-3). The Cardinal tallied 10 steals and forced 14 Minnesota turnovers.
After a back-and-forth start, Minnesota led by as many as 10 points in the first half with 6:51 to go, 24-14, after a 17-1 run. Stanford, undeterred, ended the first half on a 12-5 run to trail by three at the intermission, 34-31.
Gealer connected on back-to-back triples to open the second half, giving Stanford a 39-36 lead. The Cardinal led for 18 of the 20 second half minutes, and it took the lead for good at the 6:43 mark after a layup from Okpara and Gealer’s fourth triple of the game. Cammann, Gealer and Okorie made free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Stanford captured its first win on Thanksgiving Day since the 2000 Puerto Rico Shootout against Old Dominion, snapping an eight-game Thanksgiving Day losing streak. The Cardinal has won two of the last three meetings with Minnesota, dating back to its NIT Championship in 2012.
Stanford takes on Saint Louis on Friday, Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. on TruTV.