The Vaqueros learned Saturday what the rest of the Southland Conference already knows: the Cowboys rule the ranch.

Playing McNeese for just the second time ever and first as a league opponent, Texas Rio-Grande Valley found out the hard way just how good the Cowboys can be.

Behind a strong first half, McNeese ran past the Vaqueros 93-63 in Edinburg, Texas, to start a key 3-game road trip on a high note. It was the Cowboys’ largest margin of victory over a Division I team this season.

“We just came in ready to play,” said forward Christian Shumate. “We just want to do what we do, play to our standards.”

Shumate and Joe Charles each finished with double-doubles as the bookend forwards controlled the paint. It was Shumate’s third such performance of the season, 37th of his career, and second in a row.

Shumate scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds, which included the 1,000th board of his career. That came on the defensive end early in the first half.

“I came into college as a rebounder; that’s what I was known for,” said Shumate. “I didn’t want to lose that. Boardmen get paid.”

Charles, returning to the lineup after missing last Monday’s game with an ankle injury, tossed in 11 points and 10 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season.

The victory was McNeese’s 10th in a row, improving its record to 15-5, 9-0. The team has won a nation-best 20 straight against conference competition and is 28-1 against the league over the last two seasons. The 20 consecutive victories tie Lamar for second in SLC history.

The Cowboys, who haven’t lost since Christmas, will take a two-game lead into their showdown with second-place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night at 7 p.m. The Islanders knocked off Nicholls 61-57 on Saturday.

“To win with this type of a score on the road says a lot about our guys,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “A really good win, a team win. I’m proud of our guys.”

Quadir Copeland finished with a season-high 21 points, hitting all his 11 free throws. He also handed out eight assists while collecting three rebounds and three steals.

Guard DJ Richards celebrated his birthday with 12 points, hitting three straight 3-pointers for the Cowboys early in the second half. He led a McNeese shooting barrage that made 9 of 13 from long range in the final 20 minutes.

“DJ did a great job getting us going in the second half with those threes, and Q was tremendous,” said Wade. “He is really tough to handle and is starting to figure it out.”

A total of six Cowboys finished in double figures, with Brandon Murray scoring 11 and Javohn Garcia adding 10. 

The Cowboys used an 18-2 run in the first half to take control for good. Shumate’s dunk and two Copeland free throws put McNeese up 24-11 12 minutes into the game. 

The lead was 40-26 at the half, and that’s when Richards got hot. He hit his first three 3-pointers out of the locker room, and McNeese started a 19-4 spurt that put the game away.

That ended when Murray hit a three with six minutes remaining to put the Cowboys up 79-51 and end all thoughts of a UTRGV comeback. Trey Miller led the Vaqueros with 19 points, but the SLC leaders in 3-point shooting hit just 7 of 33 from behind the arc. 

“We won on the glass; our defense was good for most of the game,” said Wade. “We sped them up so they weren’t taking threes in their rhythm.”

McNeese won the battle of the glass 44-28 and outscored UTRGV 42-22 in the paint. The Cowboys also won the bench battle by 19, 27-8.

The two teams will meet again on Feb. 24 in Lake Charles.