SLIPPERY ROCK — For one day, Slippery Rock University men's basketball coach Kevin Reynolds wanted his team to emulate Penn State.

It didn't happen.

The Rock won its season opener Sunday at Morrow Field House, however, placing six players in double figures in an 88-61 victory over Ohio University-Eastern.

During SRU's 82-51 exhibition loss at Penn State, the Nittany Lions scored the first 19 points of the game and were never threatened.

"They hit the floor like they were excited to play a college basketball game. It didn't matter who they were playing or what the situation was," Reynolds said of Penn State. "I was hoping we would take the same approach today.

"We coaches did a poor job of preparing our team to play and the players weren't ready to play. We all were at fault."

OU-Eastern is a member of the Ohio Regional Campus Conference and has two-year and four-year players on its roster. The Rock hung a 103-63 loss on the Panthers to open the season last year.

OU-Eastern was 14-8 last season and graduated a 1,800-pioint scorer.

The Panthers (1-2) had a 16-14 lead on SRU until Michael Evans Jr. drained a 3-pointer with 13:38 left in the first half.

The Rock's biggest lead of the night was 27, SRU reaching that margin for the first time at 75-48 with 7:36 left in the game.

But OU-Eastern went on an 11-2 run to pull within 77-59 with 3:45 remaining. The Rock went a span of 3:31 without making a field goal.

"Anytime a team from our league can stay within 20 points of a Division II team, it's a moral victory for us," Panthers coach Donnie Madzia said.

"Then we gave up a steal for a jam at the other end, they nail a three ... We gave up eight points in like 40 seconds. That was a little disheartening."

SRU starting center Maron Brown didn't play because of an ankle sprain suffered in practice. Senior guard Cecil Brown has a sore ankle and was also held out of the game.

"When you play those bigger schools (Pitt and Penn State exhibitions), the games are physical and you get a little beaten up," Reynolds said.

With Brown out, Butler graduate Jade Burka and 6-foot-5 senior Gary Satterwhite saw more playing time. Both produced double-doubles. Burka had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Satterwhite 10 points and 10 boards.

Maurice Douglas came off the bench to score 17 points, grab eight rebounds and notch five assists. Evans Jr,. had 14 points, Andre Tarver 12 points and nine assists, Bryen Spriggs 10 points.

Jason Shaw paced three OU-Eastern players in double figures with 20 points. But the Panthers were outrebounded 54-32.

"Their athleticism concerned us coming in here. We just had to get on those bodies and box out," Madzia said.

SRU had 18 turnovers compared to 16 assists. The Rock sank eight of 31 shots from 3-point range, settling for 3-point attempts often, early in the game.

"We have to get a lot better," Reynolds said. "Our intensity wasn't there. The biggest thing we need to improve right now is hard work and intensity. That's a skill just like dribbling, rebounding and shooting are.

"You can't turn it on and off like a light switch or a faucet. You have to work hard all of the time."

The Rock returns to action at 3 p.m. Saturday, hosting Bloomsburg on Myron Brown Appreciation Night.

"With transfers coming in, it will take us a while to get better," Reynolds allowed. "But we don't have the luxury of bringing in freshmen and allowing them time to develop.

"We're using our limited resources to bring in guys who can help us win right away."

OU-EASTERN 61Dan Milleson 1-1 0-0 3, Jason Shaw 7-16 4-10 20, Steve Luckhardt 2-11 8-8 12, Zach Tolzda 3-11 4-5 10, Dave Barcroft 1-1 0-0 2, Grant McCroskey 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas Norris 1-2 0-0 3, Josh Wells 0-4 0-0 0, Pec Schmitt 2-2 0-0 4, Carter Baldwin 1-8 4-4 7, Tim Theobald 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 18-58 20-29 61SLIPPERY ROCK 88Mike Evans Jr. 5-13 2-2 14, Bryen Spriggs 5-5 0-0 10, Rashiid Coleman 1-4 0-0 2, Andre Tarver 4-13 3-3 12, Jabril Bailey 2-6 1-1 6, Gary Satterwhite 4-5 2-4 10, Maurice Douglas 7-16 0-0 17, Tommy Kelly 1-3 0-0 3, R.J. Rush 0-1 0-0 0, Jade Burka 7-9 0-2 14. Totals 36-75 8-12 88

OU-Eastern 33 28 - 61SRU 47 41 - 883-point goals: Milleson, Shaw 2, Norris, Baldwin; Evans Jr. 2, Tarver, Bailey, Douglas 3, Kelly

Saturday: Bloomsburg at SRU, 3 p.m.