No. 23 New Mexico 76, Mercer 58: Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow each scored 16 points as the Lobos used a big scoring run in each half to pull away from the visiting Bears.

Kirk posted his second consecutive double-double and third of his career as he grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds for New Mexico (7-0), which used a 19-5 run early in the first half to build a 13-point lead. The Lobos led 31-22 at halftime.

After Mercer (3-4) pulled within 44-38 midway through the second half, New Mexico put away the Bears with an 18-3 spurt over the next 6:12 to take a 62-41 lead with 5:26 remaining.

Bairstow came off the bench to score his career high on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line while Tony Snell added 13 for the Lobos.

Travis Smith led Mercer with 16 points and Jakob Gollon chipped in 10 as the Bears shot only 37.9 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers.

NOTEBOOK: New Mexico's leading scorer Kendall Williams did not record a basket as he scored a season-low two points. He did have a game-high six assists. ... The Lobos' bench outscored Mercer's reserves 32-24 and, over the last four games, New Mexico's bench has enjoyed a 105-49 advantage. ... New Mexico is 7-0 for the 10th time in school history and eight of the previous nine teams have advanced to either the NCAA or NIT.