Stanford Stunned by West Virginia

It’s been another successful season for Kyle Smith and the Stanford Cardinal, as they have reached back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2014-15. Stanford had some iconic moments throughout their season, including their defeat of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Louisville Cardinals, and the iconic Benny Gealer buzzer beater against the St. Louis Billikens.

Unfortunately, the great season has come to an end.

Stanford took on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the College Basketball Crown on Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas, NV, and going into the game, it seemed like a true 50/50 battle.

However, West Virginia took the first steps when the game tipped off, and took control early. Ebuka Okorie tried to do everything to keep Stanford in the game in the first half, but the Mountaineers were the better team on Thursday. At halftime, they had a commanding 35-29 lead.

But it wasn’t over. In fact, not even close. Around the eight minute mark, Stanford started to gather together, and eventually took the lead, holding it for a few minutes. All of a sudden, the Cardinal were in complete control of the game that they had been trailing the whole first half. That was until the final few seconds.

Stanford led by three with less than 10 seconds left, and West Virginia’s Honor Huff took the ball down the floor. He quickly read that Benny Gealer was trying to reach in for a steal, so smartly he put up a shot while his hand was inside.

Unfortunately for Stanford and Gealer, he was called for a foul, meaning West Virginia got three shots. All three went in, tying the game, and West Virginia had forced overtime despite being in a poor position just a few seconds prior.

Then it became utter domination by West Virginia in the extra period. Stanford couldn’t get Okorie going, and West Virginia was able to take over the game. The Cardinal thought they had a win under their belts, but the tides quickly turned.

The final score was 82-77, an overtime thriller in favor of the Mountaineers.

Standouts from the game

Stanford was led by Okorie, who finished with 34 points despite the loss. The big men stepped up as well, as Aidan Cammann put up a solid 12 points, while AJ Rohosy added 10 himself. Ryan Agarwal finished with eight points off the bench, and despite taking the majority of blame for the reaching foul, Gealer still had six points to showcase.

West Virginia was led by Huff, who had 21 points and completely took over the game in the second half and in overtime. And it wasn’t just the scoring that separated himself as a top player. Treysen Eaglestaff finished with 18 points in a crucial game for him, while Brenen Lorient added 14 points as well as strong defensive duties.

Now, Stanford ends a long, hard-fought season, and are now headed into a tough offseason period. They have big decisions to make, such as whether Ebuka Okorie leaves or stays, as well as who to bring in as transfers, evaluating incoming freshman, and more. Coach Smith has some big decisions to make, and that process starts now.

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