In Ohio State’s first overtime game of the season, a 3-pointer from Pitt forward Zack Austin brought the Panthers (7-1) into overtime over Ohio State (5-2), 91-90.

Ohio State led for most of the game and almost all of overtime, but blew a 12-point lead in the second half before Pitt scored six of the final seven points of overtime.

TEAM	1	2	OT	FINAL
PITTSBURGH	39	38	14	91
OHIO STATE	48	29	13	90

Guard Jaland Lowe led the way for Pitt, scoring a game-high 28 points. Fellow guard Ishmael Leggett added 21 points while Austin tallied 16 points.

Bruce Thornton collected 24 points and nine assists in the loss, both team highs. Devin Royal and Micah Parrish followed with 18 and 15 points, respectively.

First half

It took almost eight minutes for both teams to take a two-point lead at the Schottenstein Center.

Meechie Johnson Jr. collected eight points in that time, including two hard-contested three-pointers, one from the right corner and one from the left wing. The second of those threes made the score 19-13 for Ohio State with 12:07 left in the first half.

Pitt had a clear size advantage from the start, especially since the Buckeyes were forced to field a small-ball lineup without regular starting center Aaron Bradshaw, who remains out due to a university investigation. Sean Stewart opened the game in the middle, but picked up two fouls and went to the bench after 6:30.

Austin Parks came in midway through and made a bit of noise. He hit a clean reverse layup on an up-and-under and then hit home a feed from John Mobley Jr. after the sharpshooting freshman drew a perimeter double-team. Mobley showed why he deserved that double team on Ohio State’s next possession, hitting a 3-pointer with his feet in the Buckeyes’ half-court logo.

Thornton hit a mid-range jumper to cap a 7-0 run, and Ohio State led 28-18. Royal put up six points and Mobley hit a three-pointer in the left corner to maintain the lead for a while before two Leggett layups cut the lead to six. A Thornton three-pointer from the top of the key helped the Buckeyes take a 48-39 lead into halftime.

Bradshaw’s absence and Stewart’s foul trouble forced the Buckeyes to resort to a lot of three-point lineups in the first half, but that proved beneficial to their passing and shooting. Ohio State made 6 of 9 from 3-point range and collected 12 assists on 20 shots made.

Second half

OHIO STATE	STAT	PITT
90	POINTS	91
30-58 (51.7%)	FGM-FGA (PCT.)	30-67 (44.8%)
11-20 (55%)	3:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (PCT.)	8-24 (33.3%)
19-29 (65.5%)	FTM-FTA (PCT.)	23-30 (76.7%)
11	SALES VOLUME	11
29	TOTAL REBOUNDS	36
8	OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS	16
21	DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS	20
17	BANK POINTS	31
2	BLOCKS	2
5	STEALS	5
20	HELPS	10

Stewart opened the second half with a 3-point play and combined it with Thornton for an alley-oop flush for a massive pop from a fairly crowded arena. Ohio State led 57-46. Then the Buckeyes crashed back to earth.

Turnovers increased as the Buckeyes tried and failed several more alley-oop attempts. Ohio State missed five straight field goals and went scoreless for more than seven minutes, giving the ball away six times during that span.

Meanwhile, Pitt’s offense continued to hum, especially Leggett, who made two quick 3-point plays, both the old-fashioned way and with a shot from beyond the arc. The final play gave the Panthers their first lead since they led 9-7 in the first half, and the run continued with a 3-point play from forward Amadou Kante. Another layup by Leggett ended the scoring streak at 15-0 and Pitt led 61-57 with 10:53 left.

Parrish got the crowd going again with a four-point play when he was fouled by Leggett at the top of the key while splashing a 3-pointer. Mahaffey returned a missed shot to give the Buckeyes the lead back. Zack Austin hit a triple for the Panthers, but Thornton responded with a three of his own to give the Buckeye a 67-66 lead with 5:28 to play.

With a 68-67 lead, Parrish hit an ugly three-pointer from the right wing. Royal extended the lead to 73-68 with two free throws. Pitt cut it to 73-72, but Parrish was ready with another three-pointer.

But Austin scored a catch-and-shoot trey of his own before Lowe made it 77-77 with 33 seconds left. Thornton missed a potential game-winner and the two teams went to overtime.

Over time

Thornton opened overtime with a bang, hitting a quick three-pointer while running full speed to his left. Two free throws from Royal gave Ohio State an early two-point lead in overtime, 82-78.

Kante was fouled for the Panthers and Thornton sank two more balls at the charity stripe to increase the lead to 84-80. Then Leggett was fouled and Thornton hit two more. But Lowe kept Pitt with him. He scored eight straight points for the Panthers, making it a one-point game, 89-88. After Royal made just one free throw on Ohio State’s next possession, Austin hit a three-pointer with Parrish’s hand in his face to win the game for Pitt.

PITT WINS IN COLUMBUS! ZACK AUSTIN THE HERO FOR THE PANTHERS! @Pitt_MBB pic.twitter.com/2e1Tiy4mEk

– NBC Sports (@NBCSports) November 29, 2024

What’s next?

Ohio State plays its first Big Ten game of the 2024-25 season when it travels to College Park to face Maryland on Wednesday. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Game notes

• Ohio State’s loss was the first overtime game of the Jake Diebler era.

• Friday marked the 26th all-time meeting between Pitt and Ohio State in men’s basketball, with Pitt now leading the series 16-10.

• Freshman forward Colin White was sidelined against the Panthers with an injury and was seen wearing a walking boot.

• Royal was injured several times, once to his ankle and another time to his hamstring, but both times he returned to competition.