Ohio State sophomore center Austin Parks (25) dunks on Pittsburgh junior Cameron Corhen (2) during the game at the Schottenstein Center Friday. The Buckeyes fell to the Panthers 91-90 in overtime. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State led by 5 points both with 90 seconds left in regulation and one minute to play in overtime.
But in the end, Pittsburgh was only down by 2 and had a chance to win it and Panthers forward Zack Austin capitalized.
With just six seconds left, Austin delivered a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to push Pittsburgh past Ohio State 91-90.
“When we switched, we sank too low,” Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler said. “Switching is something we work on every day. We didn’t execute it properly in that moment.”
The Buckeyes played from ahead for nearly 80% of the game and led by as much as 12, but ultimately, the Panthers (7-1) sent the Buckeyes (5-2) into heartbreak and escaped with a Friday victory at the Schottenstein Center.
Four lead changes in the first five minutes kept the game close, but after center Austin Parks made a layup, Ohio State rallied for a 7-0 run after guard Meechie Johnson Jr. drilled a three to take a 19-13 lead.
After six different Buckeyes recorded each of the team’s first six baskets, guard John Mobley Jr. was the eighth player to score with a 3-pointer from the logo, forcing a Pittsburgh timeout and giving the Buckeyes a 26-18 lead.
After the brief pause, Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton’s jumper found the bottom of the net, capping another 7-0 run and taking a then-game-high 10-point lead.
Despite the Buckeyes’ strong offensive performance in the first half, the Panthers didn’t let them get too far ahead, as Pittsburgh made eight straight field goals in a nearly eight-minute span.
Ohio State went into the break with a 48-39 lead, which would’ve been more devoid of turnovers, shooting 69% from the field and 67% from 3.
“We had a chance to probably go in with a double-digit lead, maybe 11, 12, 13 points,” Diebler said. “We had a couple of turnovers in that stretch. It’s something we’ll continue to monitor and work on.”
While Ohio State turned the ball over four times in nearly four minutes, the Panthers outscored the Buckeyes 13-2 and trailed by just 1 approaching the midway point of the second half.
Despite an Ohio State timeout to halt the Panthers’ momentum, the Buckeyes lost their lead after Pittsburgh forward Papa Amadou Kante made a layup and drew a foul.
The score gave Pittsburgh its first lead since being up 13-12 in the first half and extended its run to 18-2.
Ohio State, desperate to make its first field goal in nearly eight minutes, finally let one fall as guard Micah Parrish nailed a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, also drawing a foul.
“You got to give up position for possession on some of those,” Diebler said. “It’s something we talk about; we talk about giving up position for possession, and there were a couple of those I felt like we didn’t do that.”
After Thornton hit the deck hard without a foul call, guard Evan Mahaffey secured the offensive rebound and dunked the ball to give the Buckeyes a 64-63 lead with 7:09 to play.
With two minutes to go, Parrish canned his second 3-pointer in the final eight minutes of regulation, giving Ohio State a 71-67 lead.
But the Panthers crawled back. Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe made a jumper with 33 seconds left to tie the game at 77.
In the final seconds of the second half, Thornton missed a contested jumper to send the game into overtime.
“I tried to get to my spot and knock down a shot,” Thornton said.
To open the overtime period, Thornton knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Buckeyes an 80-77 lead.
Both teams combined for 23 free throws in overtime. Ohio State went 10-of-14 from the charity stripe, compared to Pittsburgh’s 7-of-9 mark.
The Buckeyes continued to hold on down the stretch as they carried a 5-point lead in the final minute of the game.
But missed free throws and fouls on Pittsburgh jump shooters allowed the Panthers to make a game-winning shot.
“I thought the turning point — both times we fouled jump shooters — was significant in that situation,” Diebler said. “You got to make them earn that shot over top of you.”
Diebler said moving forward, this can turn into a positive learning experience heading into Big Ten play.
“We got to learn from this stuff down the stretch,” Diebler said. “These are easily correctable things and this can serve us really well if we’re able to respond appropriately.”
Ohio State will play its first conference game Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in College Park, Maryland, against the Terrapins.
