COLUMBUS, Ohio – Zack Austin buried his fifth three-pointer of the game with 0.4 seconds remaining as Pitt overcame a double-figure halftime deficit en route to a 91-90 road win over Ohio State Friday afternoon at Value City Arena.
The Panthers, ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, trailed by 12 with 17:40 left in the contest before Papa Amadou Kante entered the contest and helped shift momentum. Amadou Kante finished the day with a career-high 12 points to go along with four offensive rebounds and a blocked shot as his energy and enthusiasm ignited the Panthers.
Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett made big plays throughout the game finishing with a combined 49 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. Lowe scored a career-high 28 points, including eight in the overtime session, and found a trailing Austin for the game-winner. Leggett posted his second double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and two steals.
Austin went 5-of-8 from three-point range and finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and two steals as Pitt improved to 7-1 on the season.
Amsal Delalić connected on a three with 15:15 remaining to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead. Ohio State responded by making five consecutive shots midway through the opening half and grabbed a 19-13 lead on a 7-0 run highlighted by a driving layup and a three-pointer by Meechie Johnson.
Pitt responded with a three of its own from Austin as the Panthers hit the under 12 media timeout trailing by three.
Pitt fell behind 28-18 as the Buckeyes came out of the break with a 7-0 run and the Panthers trailed by as many as 12 before making eight consecutive shots from the field in trimming the deficit to six 41-35 with under three minutes remaining. Leggett and Lowe scored on a variety of driving finishes to spearhead the Pitt surge.
Ohio State got a three from Bruce Thornton late in the half and entered the break with a 48-39 lead as the Buckeyes shot 69.0 percent (20-of-29) from the field, including a 6-of-9 effort from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes of action. Pitt shot 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the field in the first half but committed eight turnovers before the break.
Amadou Kante came off the bench to spark a 10-0 Pitt run with four points and a steal, while Leggett added a three-point play and a three-pointer to get the Panthers within one at 57-56 and force an Ohio State timeout with 12:56 remaining in the contest.
Pitt grabbed the lead with an Austin steal coming out of the timeout and Amadou Kante added a three-point play off a nice feed from Leggett to give Pitt its first advantage since the 13:03 mark of the first half.
The Panthers led by as much as five points before Ohio State regained the lead on a 6-0 run aided by a four-point play and a dunk off a loose ball rebounding scrum. Austin drilled a three from the top of the key with 6:02 remaining as Pitt regained the lead at 66-64.
Ohio State pulled ahead on a Thorton three and extended the advantage to 71-67 on a late shot clock three from Micah Parrish. Pitt trailed by five with just over three minutes remaining before Amadou Kante scored in the lane and Lowe added a pair of free throws.
Parrish hit a big corner three and Johnson split a pair of free throws to again give the Buckeyes a five-point cushion.
Austin drilled a three with 1:23 left in regulation and the Panthers got a stop and dug out the rebound on the next Ohio State possession. Lowe converted a difficult lefty-scoop shot from the left baseline to tie the contest at 77.
Pitt got another stop in the closing seconds and Leggett corralled his 10th board to set up a chance to win with 2.3 seconds remaining. Leggett’s 65-foot heave banged off the rim to send the contest into overtime.
Ohio State struck first in overtime as Thornton drilled a deep three following a Pitt turnover. The bucket would prove to be the Buckeyes last of the night as they lived at the free throw line the rest of the way.
Thornton and Devin Royal went 6-of-6 from the foul line over the next two minutes to give Ohio State an 86-80 lead with 1:53 remaining.
Brandin Cummings saved a long rebound off a Lowe missed three and Lowe was fouled on a second three-point attempt as the Panthers continued to fight back. He converted two of three from the stripe and added a three-point play on Pitt’s next possession for an 87-85 deficit with 55 second remaining.
Thornton and John Mobley, Jr. split free throws around a Pitt miss from beyond the arc as the Buckeyes maintained an 89-85 lead with just 16 seconds left in overtime.
Lowe was again fouled on a three-point attempt with seven seconds left to set up the exciting finish. He converted all three and Pitt nearly got a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass before putting Royal at the line.
Royal missed the first free throw before rolling the second over the front of the rim. Lowe received the inbounds pass and raced up the floor before veering left. He found Austin trailing the play and he drained a deep three from the top of the key for the win.
Pitt limited Ohio State to just 10-of-29 shooting from the field after halftime. Thornton led the Buckeyes with 24 points and nine assists, while Royal added 18 points. Parrish also had a strong showing with 15 points, including 4-of-4 shooting from three, and seven rebounds.
GAME OF RUNS
Pitt used an 18-2 run over a span of 6:47 in the second half to erase a 12-point deficit and grab a 61-57 lead with 10:53 remaining. The Panthers had a season-best 15-0 spurt during that stretch as Leggett (8) and Amadou Kante (7) combined for all 15 points.
WINNING AT THE LINE
Pitt was strong at the free throw line and finished the second half and overtime a combined 15-20 (.750) from the charity stripe. Ohio State was 17-of-26 (.658) from the line during that same stretch, including just 3-of-6 in the final 1:04 of overtime.
KANTE READY WHEN CALLED UPON
Amadou Kante went 6-of-9 from the foul line and finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and a block in a season-high 17:18 of action before fouling out in overtime. He entered the contest with 17:01 of game action over four games played. The Panthers were +12 during Amadou Kante’s minutes on the floor on Friday.
UP NEXT
Pitt continues its five-game stretch away from home against power conference opponents Wednesday, Dec. 4 with an ACC/SEC Challenge matchup at Mississippi State (9:15 p.m ET – SEC Network).
Source: Pitt Athletics
