On Thursday, Stanford men’s basketball defeated Liberty 79-76 to advance to the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Stanford junior forward Spencer Jones led the way for the Cardinal with a career-high 25 points and 6 rebounds while sophomore forward Brandon Angel (17 points & 6 rebounds) and freshman forward Harrison Ingram (13 points & 7 rebounds) also finished in double figures. Liberty senior guard Darius McGhee exploded for a career-high 41 points of his own. Stanford improves to 8-4 overall (1-1 Pac-12) while Liberty falls to 8-5.

Liberty got out to an early 5-3 lead with 15:47 to go in the first half. It was kind of a slow start for both teams. Spencer Jones was already on the board for the Cardinal, which was definitely a good sign for them considering the hot hand he had against Wyoming.

Liberty would expand their lead to go up 13-5 with 12:57 to go in the half. They were on an 8-0 run. Stanford needed to stop the bleeding.

With 11:26 to go in the half, Liberty would lead 16-9. Darius McGhee was starting to catch fire for Liberty as he was up to 9 points on 3-4 shooting from deep. Spencer Jones was trying to keep up with 7 points for Stanford. Stanford had to find a way to contain McGhee.

Liberty would maintain a 20-13 lead with 7:16 to go in the half. McGhee was now up to 11 points for Liberty while Jones was still at 7 points for Stanford. Stanford was up to 8 turnovers. Their lack of good ball security was getting them in trouble.

With 4:08 to go in the half, Liberty led 28-18. McGhee was up to 14 points while nobody else on his team had more than 3 points. Stanford really needed to force others to beat them while also generating more offense on their end.

Stanford would close out the half on an 18-8 run, which included a 9-0 run. The exclamation point to conclude that run was a half-court shot made by Michael O’Connell to beat the buzzer. Nothing but net. It looked like it was straight out of the old NBA Showtime video game from the 90s. As a result, the game was tied 36-36 at halftime. After having a slow start to the first half, Stanford was back in the game and thanks to O’Connell’s buzzer beater, they entered the locker room with the momentum.

The game continued to remain tight as the second half began. With 14:56 to go, Stanford led 46-44. Jones was up to 20 points on 6-7 shooting from the field, 4-5 shooting from 3-point range, and 4-4 shooting from the foul line for Stanford. As for McGhee, he was up to 21 points on 7-15 shooting from the field, 5-10 shooting from 3-point range, and 2-2 shooting from the foul line for Liberty. Both guys were balling out.

The Spencer Jones/Darius McGhee show would continue as Liberty led 52-49 with 12:00 to go. Jones was up to a career-high 22 points while McGhee was up to 26 points. As the only guys in double figures, they needed to get more help from their teammates.

Stanford would lead 60-58 with 6:22 to go. Both Jones and McGhee were taking things to another level. Jones was up to 25 points for Stanford while McGhee was up to 31 points for Liberty. What was making the difference for Stanford was Jones getting a little more support. Brandon Angel was up to 12 points and only the third guy overall in double figures.

Stanford would soon go on a 7-0 run to lead 67-59 with 4:52 to go. Harrison Ingram was up to 11 points for Stanford following a 3-pointer and a tip in. It was starting to look like Stanford would walk out with the win in the end.

Things continued to go in Stanford’s way as they led 69-63 with 2:57 to go. McGhee was starting to cool off, not making the same shots he was making earlier in the night. As a result, Stanford had more of a cushion.

With 2:06 to go, Stanford led 69-65. They just needed to finish strong. Make some free throws and take care of the ball. With 1:15 to go, Stanford led 72-65 after a 3-pointer from Jaiden Delaire, who overall was having a rather silent night. All was calm with him, but then all became bright after knocking down that 3-pointer. With 46.7 to go, Stanford maintained a seven point cushion up 74-67 following a slam inside from Angel. At this point, it looked like Stanford was going to walk out with the win for sure.

However, rather than putting out the Flames, the Cardinal instead decided to play with fire and make things interesting all the way until the buzzer sounded. With 24.0 to go, Stanford led 76-71 after Michael O’Connell was unable to make two free throws. Liberty had the ball and some life. Liberty would cut it to three, but with 13.4 to go, Stanford had the ball and just needed to ice the game away at the foul line. Instead, Liberty forced a tie up and the possession arrow favored them. Now a game that once looked to be a certain win for Stanford was suddenly up for grabs.

With 6.8 to go, Stanford still led by three points 77-74 after Angel went 1-2 at the line. McGhee would then go to the line and make both of his foul shots to make it a 77-76 game. It would then be Ingram’s turn at the foul line where he made both shots, making it a 79-76 lead for Stanford with 3 seconds to go. In the end, Liberty would turn the ball over on the next play, making it a 79-76 victory for Stanford.

To Stanford’s credit, they won this game and didn’t give it away in the end. Spencer Jones was fantastic and he got enough help from his teammates to get Stanford across the finish line. At the same time, Stanford has to be kicking themselves at least a little bit for even letting things get as close as they did. Missed free throws left the door open for Liberty and then 23 turnovers is just a hideous statistic.

Up next for Stanford is the Diamond Head Classic championship game. That will tipoff on Christmas Day at 5:30 PM PT on ESPN2. They’ll face the winner of tonight’s BYU/Vanderbilt game.

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