Buckeyes blow overtime lead, fall to Pittsburgh at buzzer
COLUMBUS — Ohio State had a big second-half cushion to work with — until it didn’t. In a matter of just five minutes, Pittsburgh used an 18-2 run to take a lead over the Buckeyes. Jake Diebler’s team responded in a major way late in the game, and the Buckeyes survived the second-half surge from the Panthers to force overtime.
And in the extra period, Ohio State thought it had a win over the Panthers — and they did until the clock nearly ran out. But Pitt forward Zack Austin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to sink the Buckeyes chances to earn a resume-boosting nonconference win.
Final score: Pittsburgh 91, Ohio State 90.
Micah Parrish had 15 points for the Buckeyes. Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 24 points and nine assists in the win, and second-year forward Devin Royal had 18. But none of it was enough.
The Buckeyes now enter two games of conference action after a heartbreaking loss to the Panthers.
Ohio State is off for a few days before its next game, the conference opener against Maryland in College Park. December has some intriguing matchups for the Buckeyes, including two games against Big Ten opponents:
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Dec. 4 at Maryland
Dec. 7 vs. Rutgers
Dec. 14 vs. Auburn (State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia)
Dec. 17 vs. Valparaiso
Dec. 21 vs. Kentucky (Madison Square Garden, New York, New York)
Dec. 29 vs. Indiana State
Ohio State already has a win over a ranked team for an early-season resume booster. That came in the opener against Texas. Then the Buckeyes lost at Texas A&M last Friday to fall back out of the rankings before winning a couple of easy nonconference games.
This was a step up in competition for the Buckeyes, and they didn’t pass the test.
