Despite their close proximity, the University of Pittsburgh and Ohio State University don’t have any traditional rivalries in collegiate sports. However, maybe the two men’s basketball programs should get together more often since they put on one whale of a show at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday afternoon, with the Panthers prevailing by a score of 91-90 in overtime.

The hero for Pitt was reserve senior forward Zack Austin, who nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key with .4 seconds left on the game clock. Austin scored 15 points on the day, going five of eight from beyond the arc.

As for the bulk of the scoring, sophomore guard Jaland Lowe led the way with 28 points, while senior guard Ishmael Leggett added 21. Ironically, the starting guards were a combined one of 10 from three-point range, but Lowe was very effective from the foul line, making 10 of 11 on the day.

The game went back and forth early before Ohio State began to take control midway through the first half. The Buckeyes led by as many as 11 points over the first 20 minutes and took a 48-39 lead into halftime.

The Buckeyes extended their advantage to 12 points in the second half and held a 57-46 advantage with 15:36 remaining before Pitt started to make a comeback. The Panthers went on a 15-0 run and took their first lead since the first half when reserve freshman forward Papa Amadou Kante was fouled on a layup and converted the free throw to make it 59-57 with 12:13 left in regulation. Pitt ended its run with a layup from Leggett to make it 61-57 with 8:59 left in regulation.

The game remained close over the next several minutes before Micah Parrish hit a three-point shot to give the Buckeyes a 71-67 advantage with 4:12 remaining. OSU extended its lead to five a minute later on two Devin Royal free throws. The Buckeyes held what looked like a commanding 77-72 lead with 1:36 left before Pitt rallied once more.

Austin connected on a three-pointer at the 1:23 mark of the second half to pull the Panthers to within two, and Lowe tied the game with a jump shot with 33 seconds left. Leggett’s half-court shot came up just short at the buzzer, and the game went into overtime.

The Buckeyes again controlled things for the majority of overtime, grabbing an 82-78 lead with 3:23 remaining on the clock. The Buckeyes extended their advantage to 86-80 on two Bruce Thornton free throws with 1:53 left. John Mobley connected on one of two free throws to give OSU an 89-85 lead with just 16 seconds remaining. Lowe was then fouled on a three-point shot with seven seconds left and connected on all three free throws to make it 89-88. Royal then made one of two free throws with six seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 90-88 advantage.

The Panthers inbounded from under their own basket with Lowe eventually receiving the ball past midcourt. Lowe quickly passed it to Austin who completed his heroics as mentioned earlier to give the Panthers a thrilling victory.

The Panthers are now 7-1 in non-conference play. One of the things that hurt Pitt’s tournament chances a season ago was a weak non-conference schedule that included an early-season home loss to what turned out to be a pretty bad Missouri team that finished 8-24.

It remains to be seen what the Panthers will do once ACC action tips off, but an NCAA berth should be a sure thing if they eclipse the 20-win mark for a third straight season. In addition to their impressive non-conference road victory over Ohio State on Friday, the Panthers lost a close game to a ranked and undefeated Wisconsin squad in the championship round of the Greenbrier Tipoff last Sunday evening at Colonial Hall in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Next up for Pitt is another road date against 25th-ranked Mississippi State next Wednesday at 9:15 p.m.