2006-07 [Junior Season]
The UTPA junior appeared in 19 games this past season where he earned a spot in the starting rotation on three occasions... started his first collegiate game against IPFW (Feb. 1) at the UTPA Fieldhouse... started the final two games of the season against New Jersey Institute of Technology (Feb. 26) and Utah Valley State (Mar. 3)... scored a season-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the three-point arc, to go along with two assists and one steals at South Dakota State (Jan. 27)... notched eight points against North Dakota State (Jan. 25)... dished out a career-high eight assists to go along with three points, two steals and two rebounds at the UTPA Fieldhouse versus Texas A&M-International (Jan. 15)... scored seven points and dished out five assists versus Huston-Tillotson (Nov. 15)... finished the season averaging 2.8 points, 1.6 assists, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 steals per game during his junior campaign.
2005-06 [Sophomore Season]
Puente appeared in 27 games during his sophomore season as a Bronc, averaging 3.4 points per game while seeing action in 13.8 minutes per contest... scored a career-high 17 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 20) on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line to go along with four assists... led the team in scoring both times UTPA played Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 27), including a 14-point performance in their second meeting... recorded his first career double-digit scoring performance of his career against Southern Methodist (Jan. 24) where he posted 11 points, connecting on a trio of three-pointers in that contest... finished the season with the squad's highest free throw percentage (94.4), notching 17-18 shots from the charity stripe... connected on 20-of-47 three-point field goal attempts in his sophomore campaign for a 42.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc... finished third on the team with 29 assists... recorded his first career block against Texas A&M-International (Feb. 2)... posted five games of multiple steals, including a pair of three-steal performances against Texas State (Dec. 15) and Northern Colorado (Jan. 14)... played a career-high 33 minutes against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Feb. 27).
2004-05 [Freshman Season]
Puente appeared in 13 games during his freshman season as a reserve off the bench... notched a career-high six points against Texas-Permian Basin (Dec. 16), including connecting on a pair of shots from behind the three-point arc to go along with three rebounds and two assists in that contest... notched a three-pointer for his only points of the game against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Dec. 1)... shot 42.9 percent from behind the three-point line along with 37.5 percent from the field... averaged 0.7 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game in his first full season with the squad.
2003-04 [Red-shirted]
Puente was red-shirted during the 2003-04 season.
High School
Puente was a standout for McAllen Memorial High School where he had his jersey retired after his career ended... averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game as a senior... selected as a three-time first team 31-5A All-District selection... cited as the Most Valuable Player in District 31-5A... cited as a member of the All-Rio Grande Valley and All-Area first team... awarded as a second team all-region pick... was a member of a prep team that finished with the best record in school history, including a district championship... earned four letters in basketball.
From the Charity Stripe
Puente is the son of Joe and Nelia Puente... has one sister - Amanda... born on November 28, 1984... majoring in general studies.
