With Jared Garcia, Dwon Odom, and Keaston Willis on track, the archrival Shockers didn’t stand a chance against the Golden Hurricane.

Garcia continued to improve and show he is back, scoring 22 points and scorching the net with 5 of 6 on three-pointers. And Odom rarely missed, going 8 of 10 from the field - almost getting a triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds, along with 3 blocked shots.

The result was Tulsa soundly defeating Wichita State 84-77 in front of 3,427 fans at the Reynolds Center on Sunday afternoon in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score would indicate.

Although the crowd didn’t match the glory days of the rivalry, Tulsa’s intensity did. After leading only 42-41 at halftime, Tulsa came out on fire, and held a double-digit lead for most of the second half, leading by as many as 17 points, the last time at 76-59 with just over 6 minutes remaining.

Wichita State (11-9, 1-6) closed to within 7 points with just over a minute left, but didn’t get any closer. Overall, Tulsa dominated the second half.

“I thought you could see the enthusiasm in our crowd,” said Tulsa coach Eric Konkol of the TU fans, who, although not a huge turnout by the standards of yesteryear, still were loud and delirious in the second half at beating the Shockers.

A big reason for Tulsa (9-11, 3-4 AAC) kicking the Shockers was shooting. Whenever TU makes 13 of 21 (61.9) percent on three-pointers, and 56.5 percent from the field, opponents better watch out.

Those numbers are outrageous against a decent basketball team. And although WSU has been struggling in conference play, the Shockers are still capable.

“Our guys made a lot of good decisions,” Konkol said. “The shot selection was good. I thought the guys passed on average shots for good ones for their teammates.”

Add to those shooting numbers that Tulsa outrebounded an athletic Wichita State 34-29, and it shows further Tulsa dominance. The Shockers actually shot well themselves at 49.2 percent from the field, including 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) on three-pointers.

The Shockers amazingly had all 5 of its starters in double figures for their approximately 100 fans that made the 180-mile trip from Wichita. Xavier Bell and Justin Hill had 19 and 18 points, respectively, to lead WSU.

And 6-11 Florida State transfer Quincy Ballard, who has been incredible, shooting 78 percent from the field while averaging 10.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds, and was 5 of 7 (71.4 percent) from the field.

For the Golden Hurricane, Odom was the catalyst, as he has been lately. He is the guy that makes TU go at point guard.

Willis was 5 of 8 on three-pointers, and led Tulsa with a plus/minus ration of plus 14.

And Garcia played over 20 minutes, as his addition to TU basketball after recovering from injuries to both of his knees has been a big boost. The 6-9 big man gives Tulsa an added scoring dimension.

It was nice to do well against former ORU coach and current WSU coach Paul Mills, who has had so much success against Tulsa in years past.

Also, after losing double-digit leads in the second half of the last two games, this was a good start for the Golden Hurricane to get back on track.

“After the last two games, we really needed this one,” Odom said.

Tulsa next plays at home Wednesday night against UAB (12-8, 5-2).