LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State sophomore Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 30 points as he led the Aggies to a 76-63 victory over Tennessee Tech on Wednesday night at the Pan American Center.
 
Siakam, a 6-9 forward from Douala, Cameroon, split his points equally with 15 in each half in leading the Aggies (2-1). The WAC Preseason Player of the Year and current WAC Player of the Week also chalked up 11 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season and ninth of his career.
 
"Tonight was his night," said NM State head coach Marvin Menzies. "He should have scored points against this team. I expected him to with his size advantage and his ability. If you're going to be out front and center, with rank comes responsibility. That's what he's supposed to do."
 
But Menzies also added, "I've said this a thousand times and I'll say it 5,000 more, Pascal's character as a person is why I'm pleased with these totals. I've had other guys here score 30 points, but I'm happier for him than I am some of those other guys."
 
"We wanted to bounce back from a loss," said Siakam. "Losing to UNM was tough. We didn't like it. A championship team has to bounce back."
 
Siakam's performance was the first 30-point game for the Aggies since Daniel Mullings scored 32 on Jan. 25, 2014 in a win over Texas-Pan American (UT Rio Grande Valley).
 
NM State also got an outstanding performance from junior guard Ian Baker of Washington, D.C. Baker scored 19 points for the second straight game, equaling a career-high with five 3-point field goals.
 
Tennessee Tech (1-2) got 13 points from Torrance Rowe, while Josiah Moore came off the bench for 10 points. Courtney Alexander grabbed seven rebounds.
 
The Aggies bounce back wasn't easy. After the Aggies scored the first points of the game, the Golden Eagles soared back to grab the lead and held it through the rest of the first half to take a 36-33 advantage into halftime.
 
NM State answered the bell for the second half, using a 19-6 run in the first seven-and-a half minutes to jump out to a 10-point advantage and never let it go.
 
"We wanted to come out aggressive," said Siakam. "The first half was sloppy, but we came back in the second half and played our game."
 
"You have to learn from every experience, every halftime whatever it might be," said Menzies. "And that's what they did. I thought they learned from the first half to the second half and that was good."
 
The Aggies shot 50 percent from the floor, while holding the Golden Eagles to just 39 percent. They dominated TTU 49-28 on the glass.
 
The game is the first of three home contests in the Air Force Classic. NM State hosts Mississippi Valley State on Saturday night at 7 p.m., then welcomes Robert Morris, a 2015 NCAA Tournament participant, on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Aggies wrap up the multi-team event a week from Saturday at Air Force.