LAS CRUCES, N.M. - It's a well-known fact that the last time Grand Canyon stepped foot inside the Pan Am Center, it took a miracle for New Mexico State to get by their biggest WAC rivals.
The only thing miraculous about the latest showdown between the Aggies and Lopes was the fact that the former only won by 20.
Johnny McCants submitted the first double-double of his career by finishing with 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 night from the field and grabbing 12 rebounds, Jabari Rice put in a game-high 18, and the Aggies continued their all-time dominance over Grand Canyon by blasting the Lopes, 72-52, in front of the second-largest crowd to ever witness a men's basketball game inside the Pan Am Center.
At no point throughout the rout did the Lopes present any sort of threat and bolstered 13,960 of their most voracious backers, the WAC leaders pushed their winning streak to 11 games.
FIRST HALF
• Relying heavily on the play of Carlos Johnson, the Lopes managed to jump out to a 6-5 lead through the first 2:39 of action. Johnson put in all six points for the visitors during that surge, but he was one of the lone bright spots for the Lopes on the night.
• McCants quickly put the Aggies on top the rest of the way by drilling the second of NM State's seven first-half three-pointers which started an 8-0 Aggie run.
• Three consecutive points by the Lopes trimmed NM State's lead to 13-9 with 14:30 left int he frame, but that was as close as the visitors would get for the rest of the night.
• Rice and Shunn Buchanan fueled the ensuing 14-0 NM State run by draining two three-pointers apiece and Ivan Aurrecoechea concluded that backbreaking surge by torching GCU star Alessandro Lever for a put-back layup that pushed the Aggies' edge to 27-9 with 9:45 left in the frame.
• NM State's lead remained at 18 points after McCants connected on his second three-pointer of the half that made matters 32-14 with 3:45 left, but GCU had one final run left in them. Five different Lopes put in points during an 11-0 run by the visitors through the last 2:08 and as a result the Aggies' lead stood only at nine points, 34-25, at the break.
• NM State was ruthless from the field through the first 20 minutes, hitting 48.1-percent (13-of-27) of its shots and 40-percent (8-of-20) of its tries from long range. The Lopes, conversely, had a great deal of difficulty getting anything to fall and put in only 29.6-percent (8-of-27) of their shots.
SECOND HALF
• Using a heavy dose of McCants from everywhere on the floor, the Aggies quickly put any fears of a GCU comeback behind them through the early stages of the second half. The junior conjured up a pair of layups and hit a third triple through the Aggies' 10-2 run that spanned the first 2:45 of the frame.
• After that run, NM State's lead stood at 17, 44-27, with 17:15 left and the dejected Lopes never got closer than 16 points away for the remainder of the night.
• The Aggies' massive lead continued to grow until it hit a game-high 27, 61-34, with 7:53 remaining. Terrell Brown capped a 9-0 Aggie run with a layup in traffic that pushed his squad's lead to its highest point of the night.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• After taking center stage for the Aggies over their last two games, Aurrecoechea faced his fair share of double teams which allowed his teammates to prosper. Still, the senior out of Madrid, Spain, finished with 14 points, five rebounds and an assist.
• Again taking advantage of some wide-open three-point tries, the Aggies feasted from downtown. NM State went 12-of-30 from long range and had drilled 29 triples in its last two matchups with GCU.
• Passing was again a boon for the Aggies who finished with 17 assists on 27 made field goals. McCants and Evan Gilyard II each dished out a game-high five assists.
• Johnson managed to finish with a team-high 15 for the Lopes while Mikey Dixon added 14. Jovan Blacksher, Jr., put in 13 as his team dropped to 0-8 all-time inside the Pan Am Center.
• NM State pushed its overall winning streak to 11 games and extended its unbeaten run in WAC regular season games to 23 games. Against WAC foes, the Aggies have won 26 in a row.
COMING UP NEXT
• On the road once again, the midwest is the Aggies' destination. Next week NM State sets out on a journey to middle America to continue WAC play. The first stop on that expedition is Chicago, Ill., for a Thursday night battle at Chicago State. Tip-off in the Windy City is set for 6:00 p.m. MT.
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