12 key moments from Ohio State’s 67-66 Black Friday loss to Pitt

Putting its sterling 6-0 record on the line, the Ohio State men’s basketball team traveled to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on Friday night to tangle with the Pitt Panthers. Friday night’s game was the second leg of a home-and-home series that started last season, when Pitt stunned Ohio State 91-90 in overtime on Black Friday.

On one side, Ohio State was hoping to pick up a key road win over a high-major opponent after playing mostly mid-majors to this point. On the other side, Pitt just wanted to stop the bleeding coming off back-to-back losses to UCF and Quinnipiac, with the second coming at home last weekend. The Panthers were also playing without their second-leading scorer, sophomore guard Brandin Cummings, who averages 12.4 points per game but has missed each of the last two games with a “lower body injury.”

DeMarco Minor opened the scoring for Pitt, scoring the first five points of the game as the Panthers landed the first suckerpunch of the game, going up 13-4 on Ohio State after five minutes of play. Ohio State struggled to contain the dribble early in this game, with Pitt knocking down 7 of its first 10 shots.

The Buckeyes went on an 11-0 run to cut Pitt’s lead from 12 to one point in the span of 4:07, but Pitt regrouped and knocked Ohio State to the mat again, taking advantage of weak rebounding from the Buckeyes to score the next nine and go up double-digits, 30-20.

Pitt took a 34-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. They held Ohio State to an anemic 38.5% shooting in the first half, and 26% from three-point range. Pitt also dominated the paint, outscoring Ohio State 20-10 below the basket. The Buckeyes did not have a single player reach double-digits in the first half. Minor and Corhen combined for 22 points in the first half for the Panthers.

Ohio State quickly cut the deficit back to single-digits, but did so without Mobley, who came out of the locker room after halftime with a walking boot on his leg. Ohio State’s inability to guard below the basket was preventing them from catching up, but were making enough shots at the other end to keep it somewhat close.

By the time the under-eight timeout rolled around with 7:49 remaining, Ohio State had squeaked ahead by one point, 48-47. Thornton also curated his first double-double of the year, racking up 10 points and 11 rebounds by this time.

Ohio State took a five-point lead on a Royal three-pointer with just over five minutes to go, but Pitt cut that to just one point with 3:28 remaining in the game, 58-57. The Panthers then tied the game on two free throws from Corhen with 35 seconds left, setting up a tip-in basket for A’mare Bynum off of a missed layup from Tilly, putting the Buckeyes up 66-64 with four seconds remaining.

DeMarco minor was able to get off a sideways deep three pointer at the buzzer with Thornton’s hand in his face, burying his third three-pointer of the game to win the game for Pitt, 67-66. It was complete deja vu scene for Ohio State, which lost to Pitt last year on a buzzer-beater the night before the Michigan football game.

Here are 12 specific plays from Friday night’s loss that in the moment felt important as the game progressed.

Minor opens the scoring

Pitt’s senior guard entered Friday’s game shooting 40% from three, and he opened the scoring with a mostly unguarded triple from the far wing that was basically unguarded by Ohio State. Minor scored another bucket on the next possession, putting the home team up 5-0 early. Ohio State, on the other hand, took over five minutes of game time to get to five points (they eventually did).

Mobley with the turnover, compounds it with a shooting foul

With Ohio State down 13-4 and 5:09 into the game, Mobley tried to pass the ball to Thornton, but it was a lazy floater that was picked off by Minor, who went coast-to-coast for a basket to make it 15-4. Mobley chased him down and fouled him on the drive, compounding his turnover with a bad foul on a made shot. Minor finished the three-point play, making it 16-4.

Cupps dives to steal a possession, leads to a basket

After Ohio State cut the lead to 16-10, Gabe Cupps reached in and poked the ball away from Pitt’s Nojus Indrusaitis, and then dove on the ground in front of him to grab the loose ball. From his back, he passed to Thornton, who went down the floor and found Royal for a three-pointer to make it 16-13 with 11:56 left in the first half.

Minor picks Tilly’s pocket and goes coast-to-coast

With Pitt leading 27-20 and 3:29 left in the first half, Tilly tried to dribble several times to back his man down from the three-point line to the paint, but didn’t pay a lick of attention to anything else. Minor swept in from the corner and stole it from the big man, going the other way with it and laying it up to put the Panthers up, 29-20.

Mobley misses both free throws, Pitt immediately scores

Mobley, a career 89.8% free throw shooter coming into Friday night’s game, went to the line to shoot two free throws with just over two minutes left in the first and Ohio State down 30-20. He missed both, and Pitt’s Omari Witherspoon scored 17 seconds later to put the Panthers up, 32-20. It felt like every time Ohio State made a mistake, Pitt immediately made them pay for it.

Witherspoon finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, four rebounds, and two steals in 37 minutes.

Royal calms things down with back-to-back buckets

After Tilly made two free throws to open the second half, Royal scored below the baskets on back-to-back Buckeye possessions to make it six unanswered points to start the second half, cutting Pitt’s lead to 34-30 with 18:47 left in the game. Jeff Capel was forced to call timeout with Pitt’s once-huge lead down to four points.

Pitt gets in the bonus with 15 minutes left

Ohio State picked up seven fouls in the first five minutes of the game, with Taison Chatman’s shooting foul against Omari Witherspoon with 15 minutes remaining putting the Panthers in the bonus for the remainder of the game. Witherspoon a 30% free throw shooter this season, split the pair,putting Pitt up 42-35.

Thornton’s runner ties it

Thornton capped off an Ohio State 9-2 run with a tough runner in the lane, tying the game 44-44 with 12:01 remaining in the game. Thornton finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 13 rebounds, and one block in 38 minutes.

Tilly’s free throws give Ohio State its first lead

With 8:44 left in the game and Pitt leading 47-46, Royal missed a long three pointer but Tilly grabbed the rebound and went up with it, and was fouled by Witherspoon. Tilly hit both free throws, putting Ohio State up 48-47. It was their first lead of the game.

Tilly finished the game with 10 points —nearly all on free throws. He was 1-for-8 shooting, but 8-for-8 at the free throw line. He had six rebounds, three turnovers, and zero assists.

Royal’s fourth three puts Buckeyes up five

With the shot clock winding down on Ohio State, Cupps shot-faked a three and then drove to the basket, drawing in two defenders, before turning and firing to Royal in the corner closest to Ohio State’s bench. Royal bried it — his fourth of the game, and a career-high — to put Ohio State up, 56-51, with 5:03 remaining in the game.

Royal finished the game with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He was 4-for-8 from three and had four turnovers in 38 minutes.

Bynum tips in Tilly’s miss to put Buckeyes up 66-64

With 3.7 seconds remaining in the game, Tilly missed a layup but Bynum was there to clean it up, grabbing it and laying it back in to put Ohio State up, 66-64. Bynum finished with seven points, five rebounds, and one block in 31 minutes.

Minor, ONIONS

After Bynum’s tip-in gave Ohio State a two-point lead, Minor shot an off-balance, sideways three-pointer that fell, winning the game for Pitt, 67-66. It was his third of the game, and clinched a sweep of the home-and-home for Pitt. Minor was great for the Panthers, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and was 3-for-8 from three-point range. He also had five steals in 37 minutes.

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