LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State Aggies never trailed as they closed the first half of Western Athletic Conference play by crushing the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 92-68 Saturday night at the Pan American Center.
 
The Aggies (14-8, 6-1), who have now won five straight, moved into a first place tie with Grand Canyon who lost at home to Seattle U 59-57. UTRGV (6-16, 2-5) dropped its third straight.
 
NM State got an NCAA leading 19th double-double from sophomore Pascal Siakam, who led the Aggies with 24 points and 16 rebounds to go with three blocks, three steals and two assists.
 
The Aggies got career-high scoring nights from Jalyn Pennie and Matt Taylor. Pennie scored 20 points with three assists, while Taylor netted 12 with four assists. Junior Ian Baker scored 11 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
 
"This was a tremendous effort tonight," said NM State head coach Marvin Menzies. "We looked to share the ball, we played very smart and very unselfish tonight. And we took care of the ball. Tonight was a good night."
 
The Aggies grabbed an early lead, then slowly extended the advantage. A dunk by Siakam with 8:40 remaining in the first was the start of a 12-2 run for the Aggies and solidified the double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
 
NM State extended the lead to 22 at the half, 48-26.
 
The second half, NM State subbed freely, extending the lead to 35 points before the Vaqueros reeled it back to a 24-point final.
 
"I thought we had a chance to have a let down, but we talked to them about that. But they came out and executed," said Menzies.
 
The Aggies shot 58.2 percent from the floor for the game (39-of-67), including 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from the 3-point arc. The Vaqueros hit 40.4 percent from the floor (23-of-57), and hit 41.7 percent from the arc (10-of-24). NM State outrebounded UTRGV 39-26.
 
The Vaqueros were led by senior Shaquille Hines who popped a career-high 30 points, while freshman Antonio Green added 15 points and led the team with six rebounds.
 
With his three blocked shots against UTRGV, Siakam now has 48 on the season, ranking 10th on the Aggies single-season block chart. It's his ninth game of three-or-more blocks this season.
 
His 16 rebounds marked the fifth time this season that the 6-9 power forward from Cameroon has grabbed 15-plus boards.
 
Thanks to the Seattle U upset of Grand Canyon, the Aggies and 'Lopes are knotted at 6-1 atop the WAC standings, one games ahead of CSU Bakersfield at 5-2.
 
That sets up the showdown for the lead in the WAC as Grand Canyon visits the Pan American Center on Thursday. The Aggies are looking to avenge an earlier 79-75 loss in Phoenix.