PITTSBURGH — Entering the season, Pittsburgh was understandably concerned about replacing a large part of its departed frontcourt.

Aaron Gray is doing his part to quell any of those worries.

The 7-foot junior had a double-double for the third time in four games this season in leading the Panthers to a 79-58 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) Tuesday night.

"Aaron Gray is a monster," Terriers coach Brian Nash said. "He's going to be a pro, and sometimes you can't match up with size like that."

Gray had career-highs in points (22) and blocks (four) and added 11 rebounds to lead all players in each category.

"My teammates had a lot to do with my night," Gray said. "I didn't have to do too much. I was given great passes, and when I was running the floor, guys were hitting me. But I definitely feel more and more comfortable out there."

Gray has been charged with helping replace forwards Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft, who left Pitt (4-0) after last season. Gray had no career starts and had averaged only 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds with no double-doubles in 9.6 minutes per game coming into the season. He has averaged 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds this season.

"The progress he has made from his senior year of high school to now has been steady but dramatic," Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said. "Teams will double-down on him a little more as this season goes on. You're talking about a guy that didn't have a lot of points last year, so people are a little surprised now."

Pitt, which is 4-0 for the eighth consecutive season, led by only three at halftime but opened the second half on an 8-2 run and added 12-2 and 13-4 runs later in the half to break the game open.

Senior Carl Krauser had four points, two steals and two assists in a stretch of just more than six minutes at the beginning of the second half.

"I just wanted to come out there and give my team a big energy lift," Krauser said. "I told my teammates at halftime, the first five minutes of the second half are the most important."

Krauser finished with a career-high six steals. His 18 points moved him into 19th place on the all-time Panthers' scoring list with 1,211 points, passing Curtis Aiken.

"His leadership... It's one thing to talk about it and another thing to do it," Dixon said. "He's doing it."

Christian Brown had 20 points and Tristan Smith 10 points for St. Francis. Brown had 16 points in the first half but did not convert a field goal in the second half.

"I thought Ronald (Ramon) did a great job in the second half on Brown," Dixon said. "Keith (Benjamin), too. Those guys stepped up in the second half on him. He's a dangerous player who can score in streaks. I thought we gave him a few too many looks early."

Pitt, which is 62-0 all-time against Northeast Conference opponents and has won 53 of its last 54 games against non-conference foes at home, held a 31-2 advantage in points off of turnovers. St. Francis committed 19 turnovers.

"We made too many mental mistakes," Nash said. "And I have to give Pitt credit for that. They are a physically intimidating team and they showed that size and experience in the second half."