New Mexico 65, No. 19 UNLV 60: Alex Kirk scored a game-high 23 points and the host Lobos finished the game on a 9-2 run to knock off the Runnin’ Rebels in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.

New Mexico (14-2, 1-0 Mountain West) also got 13 points from Tony Snell and 11 from Kendall Williams. With eight seconds to play, Snell had a huge steal and was fouled and put the game away with a pair of free throws. Williams gave New Mexico a 60-58 lead with a 3-pointer with 2:04 to play and the Lobos never trailed again.

Anthony Bennett and Khem Birch both scored 12 to lead UNLV (13-3, 0-1). Bennett, the top scoring freshman in the nation, was hampered with foul trouble throughout the game. He picked up his fourth foul with 14:14 to play in the second quarter with UNLV holding a four-point lead. When he returned the Rebels were trailing by two points.

The Rebels, who had their two-game winning streak come to an end, led by seven early in the first half but New Mexico went on a 12-3 run capped by a 3-pointer by Snell to take a 24-22 lead. Kirk then caught fire, finishing with 16 points in the first half and the Lobos led 34-30 at the break.

Bennett hit back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run to give UNLV a 43-39 lead early in the second half, but he soon picked up his fourth foul. The game was tied eight times and there were eight lead changes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New Mexico shot 15-for-29 from the free-throw line. … Mike Moser returned to action for UNLV. Moser is still recovering from a dislocated elbow and missed the last two games. He was 1-for-6 from the floor and finished with three points. …The game marked the first time since 2005 that the Lobos opened conference play at home.