Cougars Blast Miners

HOUSTON, TX -- The Houston Cougars started slowly Thursday night versus Texas-El Paso; but, the Cougars quickly recovered and rolled to a 30 point victory, 84-54, in front of an embarassingly low attendance of 285 fans (that number must include the band, the cheerleaders, and the Cougar Dolls).Houston (14-13 overall, 8-6) trailed UTEP (15-13, 6-8) 13 to 7 with 15:31 left in the first half; then, UH awakened."We started off quicker than we have in the last two games," said Wade Scott, UH assistant coach. "I thought it really helped us overall."Houston forward Lesslee Mason scored six points in an 11 to 4 run and put the Cougars ahead 18-17 with a layup.Teammate Roxana Button drained a jumper for a three point lead (20-17) at the 12:17 mark.Houston led by five points before the Miners made a brief run and pulled within a single point (26-25) with 6:57 remaining in the opening half. However, the Cougars closed out the half with a 20 to 7 run to lead 46-32 at halftim...