Stanford, CA – Stanford's prized recruit, Ebuka Okorie, appears to be the real deal, and the Portland State Vikings found that out in the season opener. Okorie, a 6-2 freshman guard from New Hampshire, scored 26 points with seven rebounds in his first Division I game to lead the Cardinal over the Vikings, 89-79, at Maples Pavilion.
 
PSU put on a game performance against a Stanford team that beat Oregon in an exhibition last week. But, in the end, the Vikings were outplayed in most categories by the Cardinal.
 
The Vikings had a spark from a newcomer of their own, Sebastian Tidor. The redshirt junior came off the bench to score 22 points and grab a team-high seven rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Notably, Tidor hit 6-10 from three-point range.
 
Preseason All-Big Sky selection Jaylin Henderson had 19 points, four assists and two steals for the Vikings. Terri Miller Jr., also a preseason All-Big Sky choice, had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
Fouls and turnovers were an issue for the Vikings. They were whistled for 30 infractions while also committing 21 turnovers. On a positive side, the Vikings shot the ball well, hitting 13-27 three-pointers (.481), were .458 from the field overall and .750 at the line.
 
Because of fouls, Stanford had a big free throw advantage, making 29-36 at the stripe, compared to just 12-16 for Portland State.
 
At the start, the Vikings jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but the Cardinal roared back with nine straight points and an 11-8 advantage. Stanford remained in the lead for most of the remainder of the half. In fact, PSU had the game tied at 26-26 on a Mozae Downing-Rivers layin with just over five minutes left in the first half.
 
Stanford mounted an 11-4 run before the break and took a 37-30 halftime lead. It was the largest lead for either side in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The ugly number for Portland State in the first half was 13. As in 13 fouls and 13 turnovers.
 
Okorie, a star freshman from New Hampshire's Brewster Academy, scored 10 of Stanford's first 13 points and had 16 points by halftime. Henderson had nine points for the Vikings.
 
Stanford scored the first seven points of the second half and held a double-digit lead at 44-30. That's when the Vikings found the three-pointer. Tidor hit two, Alex Dupre followed with one, then a Henderson three pulled PSU back within 46-42.
 
The Vikings would not get closer as the Cardinal pushed the lead to double digits inside of eight minutes remaining. PSU was within nine at 77-68 with 2:55 to play, but that was as close as the Vikings would get.
 
Chisom Okpara added 21 points for Stanford as four players scored in double figures.
 
Tre-Vaughn Minott, the Vikings' star center and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, was limited to 24 minutes due to fouls. He finished with four points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
 

GAME NOTES

• Portland State started its three preseason All-Big Sky Conference selections in SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott, SR G Jaylin Henderson and SR F Terri Miller Jr. Also starting were RS FR G Alex Dupre and JR G Keyon Kensie Jr., a transfer from San Diego. Minott had a blocked shot on the Vikings first defensive stand of the game. Kensie made the first field of the season for the Vikings, a three-pointer.
• Several Vikings made their first-ever appearance in the green and black. They included: Alex Dupre, Keyon Kensie Jr., Sebastian Tidor, Mozae Downing-Rivers, Brycen Long, Colt Ness, Alex Dupre and Brayden Barron.
• The Vikings will have their home opener this Friday at Viking Pavilion, hosting Northwest Indian College at 7 p.m. The game airs on ESPN+.