The Rutgers basketball team opened its international trip in strong fashion.

The Scarlet Knights defeated the Madrid All-Stars 96-78 on Wednesday in what was the first of four friendly games they’ll play in their summer trip to Spain.

Head coach Steve Pikiell’s squad never trailed throughout the evening, jumping out to a 10-0 lead and never looking back. Rutgers was ahead by as much as 23 points with 9:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“We put some points on the board and played exciting basketball against a veteran team,” Pikiell said, via ScarletKnights.com. "We had a lot of turnovers and have a lot to clean up, but I like that we are a high-energy team with a lot of weapons. We just have to play better the next go-around.”

The game was not televised or streamed, but the box score was available. Here are some things that jumped out from the stats:

Senior forward Shaq Carter led the way with a team-high 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including a 1-for-2 clip from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. The front court is the question mark of the roster heading into the 2019-20 season and Carter’s contributions will be crucial to the Scarlet Knights, so it’s a positive sign for Rutgers to see him perform well in the first exhibition of the summer.

A number of Scarlet Knights made their competitive debuts with the program:

Graduate transfer Akwasi Yeboah stood out from the bunch, putting in an all-around productive shift. He scored 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the floor and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line, along with six rebounds, three steals and an assist. “It was a hard-fought game and a good test and way for us to get used to each other,” Yeboah said, via ScarletKnights.com . “We’re clicking and beginning to play well with one another. Tonight was about adjusting to the European style of play.” Texas transfer Jacob Young factored 11 points while going 3-for-5 from beyond the FIBA three-point line that will be used in the upcoming season. He also contributed three assists and three rebounds. True freshman Paul Mulcahy did not factor much offensively, at least not on the statsheet. He went scoreless, missing his only two attempts, which came from beyond the arc, and picking up four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 22 minutes of play.

Rutgers started the game with a three-guard line-up, featuring Geo Baker at point guard and Peter Kiss as the third guard. Pikiell said he expects to use the trip as a chance to mix-and-match line-ups, so this is not a definitive line-up. It is worth noting, however.

Ron Harper Jr. had an up-and-down game, going a perfect 7-for-7 inside the arc and finishing with a team-high plus-minus of 15, but missing all four of his three-point attempts from the FIBA distance that will be used in the upcoming 2019-20 season.

Free throw shooting continued to be poor, even in a meaningless game in front of no crowd in another country. The Scarlet Knights shot 58 percent (11-for-18) from the line.

It was the first time Rutgers played a competitive game with the FIBA three-point line, and the results were encouraging. The Scarlet Knights went 13-for-39 (39 percent) from beyond the arc. Young and Kiss (3-for-4) stood out in that stat.

Rutgers doubled the Madrid All-Stars (50-25) on the glass. The Scarlet Knights continue to live up to their identity under Pikiell.

Rutgers committed 32 fouls and surrendered 41 free throws, while Madrid only conceded 16 fouls. Either the Scarlet Knights are really foul prone, or there was some serious home cooking happening overseas.

Rutgers takes the court again on Saturday in Valencia, where they face the CC Basketball Academy at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

“I really appreciate Scarlet Nation following us on this tour,” Pikiell said, via ScarletKnights.com. “They are the best. We’re getting better. This is an exciting team with a lot of answers ... I really liked the tempo we played with tonight. Better days are ahead.”

Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @briannnnf. Find NJ.com on Facebook.