Stanford is making a habit of nail-biting endings. Against Minnesota on Thanksgiving, they barely fended off the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota was within 2 with under five seconds left, but they ended up sending Ebuka Okorie to the line. He hit two clutch free throws, sealing their finals spot of the Acrisure Invitational Championship with a 72-68 win. The finals somehow topped that ending with Benny Gealer icing the win.

This time, it was the Cardinal chasing a comeback. They entered the second half with the scoreline reading 36-47 to St.Louis. They started with an 8-0 run early in the second and kept up with the Bilikens. It came down to 2 points with just 2 seconds left as Ebuka Okorie once again made a free throw, but intentionally needed to miss the second for a chance to get the victory.

He did, and  AJ Rohosy grabbed the offensive board. The ball swung to Benny Gealer in the corner, who hadn’t scored a point in the entire game until that moment. And he managed a tough, contested three-pointer with just 0.8 seconds left to complete the 78-77 win. “I mean. H had an incredible rebound. I was open, I let it fly. There’s no time on the clock. I trusted it, and great team win. Yeah, great team win,” Gealer said after the game. 

The Acrisure Invitational Championship was Stanford’s first multi-team event title since the 2007 Basketball Travelers Classic. Chisom Okpara led Stanford with 19 points, as Ebuka Okorie added 17. While both struggled from the floor, shooting 3 for 14 and 5 for 13, respectively, the game turned into a freethrow contest in the final few minutes. St. Louis finished with 28 free throws attempted, and Stanford received 24. 

Okpara and Okories each took 10 free throws. Benny Gealer, the hero of the night, had the 3 most important points along with 2 assists. The tournament MVP also went to Gealer, who averaged 8.6 points and 3 assists per game. He put in a match-winning 14-point performance in their last game against Minnesota and the emphatic buzzer beater against St.Louis. It was a motivating win for Stanford early in the season, providing some momentum for Stanford to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. 

Can Benny Gealer Lead Stanford Back to March Madness?

It’s been rough for the Stanford Cardinal in the last decade. After their 2014 Sweet 16 berth, the team has cycled through coaching changes, finishing in the middle or bottom of the Pac-12/ACC standings. Last season gave them some hope. Under first-year head coach Kyle Smith, they went 21-14 and had some stars emerge. Maxime Raynaud left for the NBA, and Oziyah Sellers transferred to St.John’s, but they had some returning talent. 

Ryan Agarwal, Benny Gealer, and Chisom Okpara lead the new incomers, Jeremy Dent-Smith and Ebuka Okorie, who are looking good so far. “Being in a position of leadership entering my senior year means the world to me. I want to do whatever it takes to allow Stanford to win the most games possible. And it’s my goal to, you know, win a national championship and make it far during March Madness.”Gealer said before the season began. “I’m gonna do whatever that takes. As far as a leader, I try to lead by example, be a role model. Less of the rah rah and the talk and just you know try to go as hard as possible every possession, every rep, every practice.”

A 6-1 start and a championship win are a good start to that goal. Even for Gealer, the numbers are up. Last season, he averaged 6 points and 2 assists per game while starting only 7 games. As a senior, he has started all 6, averaging 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.”Having to win like this this early in the season. How does it propel you as you continue?” Gealer was asked after the St.Louis win.“One game at a time, one practice at a time. So it’s a great, great challenge. We were able to fight through that adversity, as you said, and you know, we got another one at home coming up. So it’s good,” Gealer said.

Cardinal is currently 88th on KenPom, with a net rating of  +9.15. However, it’s still only the beginning. Their non-conference play seems achievable while riding on the confidence of this win, but the real test will come in conference play. They went 11-9 last season in their first year in the ACC and will need to be better for an NCAA berth.