Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jamel Artis netted 14 points as the Pittsburgh Panthers completed a 78-45 rout of the Niagara Purple Eagles in a non-conference season opening matchup at the Petersen Events Center.

Josh Newkirk added 12 points and five assists for the Panthers (1-0), who also received 11 points from Cameron Johnson. Chris Jones had 10 points, while Joseph Uchebo paced Pitt on the glass with eight boards.

Emile Blackman led Niagara (0-1) with 16 points.

The Panthers took a 46-22 lead into the intermission after then knocked down 63.3 percent of their field goal tries in the first half. The Purple Eagles hit on only 20.8 percent of their shots from the floor before the break.

Niagara continued to struggle after halftime, as it made good on only 29.2 percent of its field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes of the contest.

Pitt held a 38-27 edge in the rebounding battle. The Purple Eagles missed all 14 of their shots from beyond the arc.