SLIPPERY ROCK — A new era has begun. At least, Slippery Rock University basketball fans hope so.

The Rock opened the 2008-09 season Saturday with a 103-63 laugher over an outmanned Ohio University-Eastern team at Morrow Field House.

SRUhad a 36-point lead and four players in double figures by halftime.

The game marked the debut of Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds, who has eight new players — seven transfers and one freshman — dotting his 13-player roster.

"A program that's been struggling like this one has and we're talking about not playing solid basketball for 40 minutes in a 40-point win,"Reynolds said. "That's a positive sign right there."

After a scrimmage against St. Francis (Pa.), SRUtook on Providence in an exhibition game Nov. 8 and suffered a 105-84 loss. Denell Stephens, a 6-foot-3 senior transfer from Angelo State (Texas), scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebnounds in that game.

Senior point guard Kyle Camper, who started for Division IIona last year, had 11 assists against Providence.

"From playing a Big East team to playing a junior college ... Talk about a come down,"OU-Eastern coach Don Madzia said. "It had to be hard for them to stay focused against us."

At times, Saturday's contest looked more like a circus than a basketball game. Stephens jammed the ball home four times in the first half alone — twice on alley-oop passes from Camper — and led The Rock with 25 points. He was 12 of 13 from the floor.

Stephens missed one jam, the ball ricocheting off the rim with such authority that it nearly landed in the stands.

SRUdrained seven of 23 3-point attempts. Otherwise, The Rock sank 38 of 55 shots from the floor, mostly from attacking the basket.

"Their talent overwhelmed us,"Madzia said. "This wasmen against boys. But through the first 16 minutes of the second half, the score was only 31-30. That's a victory for us."

OU-Eastern, with an enrollment of 700, plays five Division IIschools each season. The Panthers were 17-15 last year, 13-6 in the Ohio Regional Campus League, reaching that circuit's semifinals.

Nine of the 11 players who saw action for The Rock scored in the game. Camper did not attempt a shot and had seven assists.

"Including the St. Francis and Providence games, Kyle has 24 assists and one turnover so far,"Reynolds pointed out. "That's not too bad."

The Rock's biggest lead reached 47 points — 101-54 — when Erroll Robinson canned a baseline jumper with 1:48 to play.

Stephens had seven of 36 rebounds for The Rock. Michael Evans Jr. had 23 points — including four treys — while Jamar Scales had 20 points and Maron Brown 14.

Scales is one of five returnees from last year's 7-20 team. He sank 10 of 12 shots from the floor and is 54 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

"I decided to come back this year to prove people wrong,"Scales said. "A lot of people don't believe we can win basketball games here.

"There's a new coaching staff, new players, a whole new attitude. We'tre all excited about what can happen."

Reynolds called timeout twice early in the second half as his team appeared sluggish after taking a 60-24 lead into halfime.

"Iwasn't too concerned. That's human nature,"he said. "But I did want to address it right away."

The Rock begins this season with five consecutive home games. Shepherd comes to Morrow Field House for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Wednesday.

OHIOUNIVERSITY-EASTERN63Colin Hudson 3-9 1-1 9, Dan Milleson 4-10 3-5 11, Zach Tolzda 6-18 3-4 16, Pec Schmitt 2-4 0-0 4, Tim Theobold 0-2 0-0 0, Dillon Warner 1-1 0-0 3, Tony Sabatino 4-6 1-2 10, Dave Barcroft 4-9 0-0 8, Doug Morgan 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 25-60 8-12 63

SLIPPERYROCK103Kyle Camper 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Evans Jr. 9-15 1-1 23, Maron Brown 5-9 3-4 14, Denell Stephens 12-13 1-2 25, Erroll Robinson 1-9 0-0 2, Maurice Douglas 2-6 0-0 5, Bryen Spriggs 3-5 1-1 7, Jamar Scales 10-12 0-0 20, Tommy Kelly 2-6 0-0 5, RJRush 0-1 0-0 0, Jade Burka 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 45-78 6-8 103

OU-Eastern 24 39 —63Slippery Rock 60 43 —1033-point goals: Hudson 2, Tolzda, Warner, Sabatino; Evans 4, Brown, Douglas, Kelly

Wednesday: Shepherd at SRU