UTPA likely to continue with new-look starting five against HBU

EDINBURG — As difficult as it was to play with only seven players in a loss to NJIT last Saturday, UTPA Broncs coach Ryan Marks may have found his starting lineup for the rest of the season.

The coach expects to start the same five — Jared Maree, Brandon Provost, Aaron Urbanus, Jesus Delgado and Enique Mason — when UTPA plays host to Houston Baptist in a Great West Conference game at 7 tonight at the Field House.

Marks was forced to change his lineup after he suspended five players for the NJIT game for violating team rules. The decision to stick with the same starting five is indicative of how well the team played and not added punishment to those who didn’t play, Marks said.

Nick Weiermiller, Kieondre Arkwright, Ruben Cabrera, Earl Jefferson and Neo Sanchez all served the one-game suspension. Weiermiller and Jefferson are usual starters while Cabrera spot starts.

“I thought those guys played particularly well,” Marks said about his new-look lineup. “It gets Jesus Delgado into the starting lineup. He played very, very well off the bench at Chicago State. Inserting him as a starter is something that we have been contemplating doing anyway.”

Delgado scored 14 in a win over Chicago State last Thursday and played valuable minutes in the NJIT game. With only seven players, the minutes needed to be valuable.

“We had to do good since we only had about six players,” Delgado said. “We all just went out there knowing we had to give it our all. We have chemistry no matter who is on the court.”

Provost played the entire game and scored nine points. Urbanus was 5 for 6 from 3-point range and scored 17 points in 35 minutes while Maree had 15 in 39 minutes. Josh Cleveland came off the bench to play 31 minutes and finished with 13 points.

Delgado missed a 3 at the buzzer that allowed NJIT to walk away with a 58-57 win.

“I thought we played well at Chicago State,” Marks said. “Even though we didn’t have a full compliment of guys (at NJIT), I think we continued to play at a good level. I think that the guys collectively feel that we have a substantial chance to win any night in the Great West.”

Starting tonight, UTPA will play six consecutive at the Field House, its longest homestand since the Broncs opened the 2003-04 season with six straight, which included an exhibition game against Monterrey Tech. The Broncs have played their last five on the road.

“I think we are looking forward to this home stretch,” Delgado said. “When you are out on the road, it gets a little tiring at times. We have played a lot of good games at home. It will be a good stretch for us.”

FREE THROWS: UTPA leads the all-time series with Houston Baptist 11-8. … The Broncs won the previous meeting between the two teams, 76-70, last February in Edinburg. ... HBU is 6-13 overall and 0-2 in conference while UTPA is 6-16 and 1-1.

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

Follow Peter Rasmussen on Twitter @parasmuss