Ebuka Okorie Drops 40 in Record-Breaking Night as Stanford Rolls Past Georgia Tech
STANFORD, Calif. - There are nights when everything clicks. The shots fall, the crowd roars, and a player steps into a spotlight that feels like it was built just for them. For Stanford freshman Ebuka Okorie, Thursday night at Maples Pavilion was exactly that - a performance for the archives.
Okorie poured in 40 points, breaking his own freshman scoring record and becoming the first Stanford player in 24 years to hit the 40-point mark in a game. The Cardinal rode his historic night to a dominant 95-72 win over Georgia Tech, improving to 15-9 on the season and 4-7 in ACC play.
Let’s start with the numbers - because they’re eye-popping. Okorie went 12-for-21 from the field, knocked down three triples, and didn’t miss a single free throw, going a perfect 13-for-13 at the line.
That kind of efficiency, especially from a freshman, is rare air. He’s now just the ninth player in Stanford history to score 40 or more in a game, joining legends like Hank Luisetti, Casey Jacobsen, and Tom Dose.
And at Maples Pavilion? Only seven players have ever done it.
But Okorie didn’t just put up points - he made history along the way. With his sixth free throw of the night, he broke the Stanford freshman record for free throws in a season, passing Todd Lichti.
And he’s now just 23 points away from setting the program’s freshman record for total points in a season. This was also his fifth 30-point game of the year, giving him the most in the ACC - surpassing Duke’s Cameron Boozer.
While Okorie stole the show, he had help. Jeremy Dent-Smith added 16 points, including four makes from deep - all of which came in the second half.
Donavin Young chipped in nine points and swatted a career-high five shots, adding two steals for good measure. Benny Gealer scored nine, and AJ Rohosy added eight, including the first six points of the second half that helped Stanford regain momentum.
As a team, Stanford was locked in. The Cardinal shot 54.1% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc, draining 12 threes - their 10th game this season with double-digit makes from deep.
But it wasn’t just offense. Stanford brought the energy on both ends, racking up double-digit steals and blocks in the same game for the first time since at least 2004.
That’s a rare feat - only five other programs in the country have done it this season against a power conference opponent.
The game itself had its share of early back-and-forth. Stanford and Georgia Tech traded the lead seven times in the first half before the Cardinal ripped off a 14-2 run to go up by 11 with just over five minutes left. Georgia Tech answered, cutting it to two before halftime, but Stanford still held a 43-39 edge at the break.
Then came the second half, and with it, the Okorie takeover. After Rohosy jump-started the offense, Dent-Smith hit one of his four second-half threes, and Okorie followed with 10 straight points to push the lead to nine.
With just over four minutes left, Okorie and Dent-Smith combined for a 9-0 run that stretched the lead to 17. The Cardinal closed the game on another 9-0 burst, finishing with their largest lead of the night - a 23-point statement win.
This wasn’t just a good night for Stanford. It was a glimpse of what this team can be when everything comes together - and a reminder that Ebuka Okorie isn’t just having a standout freshman season. He’s building something special.