Benny Gealer's heroics propel Stanford basketball to a win over CSUF

It was raining threes inside Maples Pavilion as the Cardinal took home a very convincing win.

Mar 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Benny Gealer (15) dribbles against California Golden Bears guard Jalen Celestine (32) during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

It is not how you start, but how you finish. On Friday afternoon, the Stanford Cardinal took the court in their second game of the season against Cal State Fullerton, looking to build off of their strong start to the season. And while it was a tightly fought first half, the Cardinal turned it up another level after the halftime break, cruising to an 80-53 victory to improve to 2-0.

It was all about Benny Gealer, who finished the game with a team high (and career high) of 20 points, with all of his points coming in the second half. Going 6-of-6 from three after the break, Gealer’s strong half was the catalyst for the Cardinal being able to pull away with the win. 

At the half, the Cardinal were only up 30-27, shooting only 33% from the field and 2-of-12 (16.7%) from the three point line, but things really changed in the second half when more shots started to fall, shooting 55% from the field and 50% from the three point line, putting up 50 points in the half on offense while tightening up on defense, holding CSUF to only 32% shooting from the field while keeping them from hitting a single three pointer. Cal State Fullerton ended the game with a total of two assists.

Towards the end of the game is when the Cardinal really were able to close things out as they not only went on a 7-0 run on offense, but they kept CSUF scoreless the last 2:21 of the game, holding them to just 2-for-10 on their final 10 shots of the afternoon.

Opting to start Oziyah Sellers, Gealer, Jaylen Blakes, Maxime Raynaud and Aidan Cammann, the Cardinal went 10 men deep in their rotation, with Raynaud being the only player to play over 30 minutes. Gealer and Blakes finished with 28 minutes, along with Ryan Agarwal off the bench.

While Gealer was the highest scorer for Stanford in the game, Blakes and Raynaud also had huge games, with Blakes finishing with 18 points (a new career high), five assists and three rebounds and Raynaud finishing with 14 points, 14 rebounds and an assist, including scoring the game’s first bucket and making a three pointer just as the first half was ending to break the tie and give Stanford the lead going into the halftime break. This marks Raynaud’s second straight game recording a double double.

Other notables include Chisom Okpara (10 points, six rebounds, one assist) and Agarwal (eight points, three rebounds, three assists), with Agarwal hitting the team’s ninth three of the game to add onto the lead. Overall for the game, the Cardinal shot 45% from the field and 37% from the three point line.

Now having won two straight, the Cardinal have started the Smith era off on high note, and with the holiday weekend to rest and recover, they will shift their focus on preparing for their next game against Northern Arizona. That game is slated for November 12 at Maples Pavilion with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (PT).