TULSA, Okla.  – Tulsa shot nearly 60 percent from the field and knocked down 13 three-pointers in an 84-77 win over Wichita State Sunday afternoon at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Wichita State (11-9, 1-6) suffered its third straight loss and has now lost its last five road games after winning its season opener at Western Kentucky.
Tulsa entered the day ranked 301st nationally in field goal percentage, but shot a season-high 58.8 percent, including 13 three-pointers. The Hurricane finished 13-of-21 from beyond the arc (61.9 percent).
Wichita State shot 49.2 percent from the field and 7-of-15 from long range.
The trio of Jared Garcia (22), Dwon Odom (17) and Keaston Willis (17) combined for 56 points. Garcia and Willis both knocked down five three-pointers apiece.
Odom missed a triple-double by one rebound, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
Xavier Bell scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half.
Justin Hill added 18 points, doing most of his damage in the first half.
Harlond Beverly added 11 points and six assists.
Quincy Ballard and
Corey Washington finished with 10 points apiece.
Hill came out of the gates on fire, scoring 11 points in the first 10:30 on a trio of three-pointers. The Shockers led by as many as six over the first 20 minutes that featured five ties and four lead changes.
A Bell layup with 35 seconds left made it 42-41 Tulsa at the half.
Defense in large part was optional in the first half. Both teams shot better than 55 percent, including a scorching 61 percent for Tulsa. Wichita State was 5-for-8 from three-point range and Tulsa was even better at 7-for-11.
Out of the half, Tulsa needed only 3:51 to open up a double digit lead, 55-43, behind a 13-2 run.
That run would prove to be too much of a hole to dig out of for Wichita State, as they would not cut the deficit to single digits until the 1:19 mark. Tulsa led by as many as 17 in the second half.
Up Next
Wichita State closes out the month of January with a home date vs. North Texas on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
