Broncs fade away in second half

EDINBURG – The UTPA men’s basketball team that made Louisiana Tech sweat in the first half never found its way out of the locker room after halftime.

Thanks in part to a flood of first half fouls, UTPA had led for a short-period of time in the opening 20 minutes but faded in the second half of the 80-62 Tech win on Saturday at the Field House.

UTPA begins the season 0-1 and does not return home until Dec. 18 against the University of Texas-San Antonio.

The Bulldogs, who led 38-35 at halftime, came out of the break on a 7-0 run to take a 45-35 edge, and order was restored.

“I felt like we came out pumped and ready,” Broncs sophomore guard Jared Maree said. “Our energy level was pretty good. I think going into the second half, it seemed like our intensity level wasn’t as good as theirs. They had more intensity.”

All the things Tech struggled with in the first half seemed easy. The Bulldogs (1-0) shot 75 percent and out-rebounded the Broncs 12-6 in the second half.

Most importantly, the Bulldogs committed only seven fouls during the final 20 minutes. UTPA spent a considerable amount of time in the bonus during the first half, which contributed to Tech’s shaky early play.

By the 9:04 mark of the second half, he Bulldogs led 64-47 after a Magnum Rolle dunk.

“We felt like we had to come out in the second half and match their toughness,” Bulldogs coach Kerry Rupp said. “They did a great job of coming out here and trying to out-tough us. The whole thing was about to come out here and be more intense and match whatever they are doing and up it even more.”

As the deficit grew, it was obvious the spark the Broncs had in the first half was long gone and not coming back.

“There is a learning curve,” Broncs coach Ryan Marks said. “One thing we did a good job of and something we still have to get better at is when the other team has a run we have to figure out specifically what are the things we want to do and, from an offensive standpoint, what players we want to go to.”

The Bulldogs had four players in double-digits led by Olu Ashaolu’s 18. He also added a game-high 12 rebounds.

Maree and Luis Valera led the Broncs with 10 points each.

FREE THROWS: The Bulldogs shot 65.1 percent for the game. … Tech had nine steals to UTPA’s three. … Rio Grande Valley Vipers General Manager Gersson Rosas, who is also the NBA’s Houston’s Rockets vice president of personnel, was in attendance.

Peter Rasmussen covers UTPA athletics for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448 or via e-mail at prasmussen@themonitor.com.