Zack Austin, who came off the bench, was instrumental in Pitt’s exciting 91-90 overtime victory against Ohio State on Friday, contributing 15 of his 16 points from beyond the arc. His decisive 3-point basket came just as the buzzer sounded, marking Pitt’s first lead since he had previously put the Panthers ahead 66-64 with a 3-pointer at the 6:04 mark of regular time. Austin’s shooting from long range was impressive, as he finished the game hitting 5 of his 8 attempts.

As the game neared its conclusion, Devin Royal of Ohio State made one of two free throws to put his team ahead 90-88 with just six seconds remaining. Without any timeouts, Austin took the initiative by inbounding the ball to Jaland Lowe. Lowe advanced the ball past half-court, moved left, and found an open Austin, who confidently launched and made the game-winning shot.

Earlier in the match, Austin had hit another 3-pointer with 1:23 left in regulation, narrowing the gap to 77-75. Following a missed shot from Ohio State, Lowe managed to tie the game at 77 with a jumper with just 33 seconds left, which set the stage for the overtime period.

In a standout performance, Lowe led Pitt with a career-best 28 points, despite not converting from long range, going 0 for 5 on 3-point attempts, but he excelled at the free-throw line, making 10 of 11 shots. Ishmael Leggett also made significant contributions, scoring 21 points, while bench player Papa Amadou Kante added 12 points to the scoreboard.

On the Ohio State side of the court, Bruce Thornton led the team with 24 points, followed by Royal with 18 points and Micah Parrish, who contributed 15 points. Pitt improved its record to 7-1, while Ohio State fell to 5-2 after the tightly contested matchup.