OAKLAND — Flashing across the scoreboard high above the Petersen Events Center floor was the match-up.

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Slippery Rock Rocks.

You can forgive the Panthers for not knowing The Rock basketball team doesn't go by the moniker "Rocks."

You can also forgive them for not knowing SRU, period. The Rock barely knows itself.

With a roster full of new faces — a lot of them fresh and young — The Rock played 14 players against the University of Pittsburgh in an exhibition game Saturday night.

Predictably, the Panthers rolled to a 100-42 win, but what Slippery Rock coach John Marhefka got out of it was much more than the final score.

"One of our biggest goals was seeing how we were going to execute," said Marhefka, who turned over a large portion of his roster in the off-season. "Early on, if our guys would have hit a few more shots, we would have gotten a little more confidence."

Early on, SRU trailed just 21-15, but Pittsburgh went on a 21-1 run to end the first half to take a 42-16 lead at the break.

Carl Krauser hit three 3-pointers early and scored the first 11 points for Pittsburgh.

Krauser finished with 13 points as five Panthers finished in double digits.

Pittsburgh continued its run to start the second half, building a 50-16 lead less than two minutes into the half. The Panthers led by 41 with 13:22 left and by 50 after a monster dunk by Sam Young with five minutes remaining the game.

The score meant little to SRU or Pitt. It was all about getting the first game action in of the season.

Of the 14 players used by Marhefka, 12 scored with Nathaniel McCoy and Erroll Robinson — two newcomers — leading the way with seven points each.

"I was pretty proud of the effort overall," Marhefka said. "I think as we grow and mature as a team, we'll be on the right track. I'm pretty excited about all the young guys and how they are coming along."

Slippery Rock gave a glimpse of what kind of basketball team it will be this season: quick.

The Rock showed some athleticism cutting to the basket against a bigger and stronger Division-I opponent.

"We were trying to go with a lot of different looks," Marhefka said. "The style we play, we're going to try to get guys in different positions."

Marhefka said the team will be more successful against its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opponents this season.

The Rock is coming off a 7-20 campaign, but was 5-7 in the conference and in the playoff race down to the end of the season.

SRU will open its season at Morrow Field House Nov. 17 against Ohio Valley University (W.Va.)

"We're definitely going to surprise a few people," McCoy said. "You watch."

SLIPPERY ROCK (42)

Matt Schaefer 1-4 0-0 3, Erroll Robinson 2-5 2-2 7, Dejan Jancic 2-4 1-4 5, Brandon Thompson 2-3 1-3 5, Matt Hale 1-4 0-2 3, Nathaniel McCoy 3-7 0-0 7, Corey Nesser 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Mullen 1-5 0-1 3, Eric Novick 0-3 0-0 0, Jamar Scales 1-4 0-0 2, Ben Daniels 0-1 1-2 1, Tim Dykgraaf 0-1 2-2 2, Joseph Vines 0-3 2-2 2, Pete Craig 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 14-48 9-18 42.

PITTSBURGH (100)

John DeGroat 4-7 1-1 10, Levan Kendall 2-5 0-1 5, Aaron Gray 8-12 2-3 18, Ronald Ramon 2-3 0-0 5, Carl Krauser 4-8 2-2 13, Keith Benjamin 2-4 0-2 4, Levance Fields 2-5 0-0 5, Tyrell Biggs 3-9 2-2 8, Charles Small 0-1 0-2 0, Doyle Hudson 4-4 0-3 8, Antonio Graves 4-8 0-0 11, Sam Young 5-8 3-4 13, Marcus Bowman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 40-75 10-20 100.

Halftime — Pitt 42-16. 3-point goals — SRU 5-19 (Schaefer 1-3, Robinson 1-3, Hale 1-2, McCoy 1-4, Mullen 1-3, Novick 0-3, Craig 0-1), Pitt 10-22 (DeGroat 1-1, Kendall 1-1, Ramon 1-2, Krauser 3-5, Benjamin 0-1, Fields 1-3, Graves 3-7, Young 0-2). Rebounds — SRU 28 (Hale 6), Pitt 52 (Fields 8). Assists — SRU 7 (Vines 2), Pitt 29 (Fields 9). Total fouls — SRU 18, Pitt 15; Fouled out — none; Technical fouls — none.