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The New Mexico Lobos and UNLV Runnin' Rebels have had a tough, defensive battle in the fist half of their Mountain West Conference opener at The Pit. The Lobos led 9-4 early before the Rebels managed an 8-0 run of their own to take a 17-11 lead with 10:19 on a three pointer by Justin Hawkins.
UNLV lead went up to seven at 19-12 before UNM surged back, eventually taking the lad back on a trey by Tony Snell with 5:54 left to give the Lobos a 24-22 lead.The Lobos and Rebels battled but UNM was able to surge ahead to take a 34-27 lead with 1:09 left on an Alex Kirk jumper. But UNLV scored the last three points of the half to cut the lead to 34-30 at the break.
Kirk led all scorers with 16 points on 5 of 8 shooting and five rebound for UNM.Chad Adams added six points for the Lobos before going down with a hyper extended knee injury late in the first half. UNM sports information says Adams might return in the second half.
UNLV was paced by Khem Birch, who scored eight points in the first half on 3 of 5 shooting. Bryce Dejean-Jones added 5 points.
Super freshman Anthony Bennett has 4 points for UNLV on 2 of 5 shooting.