Ebuka Okorie scored a game-high 32 points to lead Stanford to a 77-68 win over Colorado in the first game of the Hall of Fame Series doubleheader in Phoenix, Ariz.
Okorie made 18 of 21 free throw attempts and added two steals. Benny Gealer scored 13 points and Chisom Okpara added 11 for Stanford (10-2) which won its third straight game.
Barrington Hargress scored 16 points to lead Colorado (10-2). Sebastian Rancik added 14 points and Isaiah Johnson tallied 11 for the Buffaloes.
The Buffaloes led, 35-33 at halftime, but Stanford turned to a 2-3 defense to start the second half and the Colorado offense struggled to play with the same pace. The Cardinal reeled off a 9-0 run to take a 43-37 lead on an Oskar Giltay layup.
Okpara scored five straight points when he nailed a 3-pointer from the wing on a broken play and used a spin-move to shake free for a layup and a 50-43 Stanford lead with 12:08 remaining. After an Okpara free throw, Okorie added four straight points and the 10-0 run gave Stanford a 55-43 advantage three minutes later.
An 8-2 run pulled Colorado within 69-61 on a Johnson three. A Hargress layup cut the Cardinal lead to 73-66 with 1:05 to play, the closest the Buffaloes would get the rest of the way. Gealer made 4 of 4 free-throw attempts in the last minute to seal the win for Stanford.
Colorado held the lead for most of the first half. Bangot Dak fought through heavy traffic for a lefty-hook shot to hand the Buffaloes an 18-15 lead at the midpoint of the period. But Stanford often had an answer. Okorie’s steal and three-point play tied the game at 18-18 at the 9:24 mark.
A Hargress layup pushed the Buffaloes to their largest lead at 29-22 with 5:02 left in the first half. But Stanford would chip away and a Gealer three tied the game at 33-33.
Moments later, a jumper by Felix Kossaras gave Colorado a 35-33 halftime lead. Even though it was a tightly contested first half, Colorado held a 22-10 edge on points in the paint.
With Okorie leading the way, the Cardinal sunk 28 free throws, while the Buffaloes made only 13 trips to the line, converting 12.
