
Nov 29, 2025
DeMarco Minor
PITTSBURGH — Damarco Minor scored 18 points and hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to rally Pittsburgh past Ohio State 67-66 on Friday, handing the Buckeyes their first loss of the season.
After Amare Bynum gave Ohio State a two-point lead with a second-chance score with 3.7 seconds remaining, Minor drove and pulled up well behind the 3-point arc to hit the buzzer beater.
“I’ve been telling the guys for three days,” Minor said afterward. “I said, ‘bro, the Lord sent us this trial to see if we gonna give up.’ Because everybody against us, nobody expected us to lose the last game. Everybody, all the fans on Twitter, saying ‘we’re terrible. ‘It’s gonna be another terrible season.’ All that ain’t nothing, but the enemy trying to get in our heads for us to throw in the towel.”
Minor, Cameron Corhen and Barry Dunning Jr. each scored 18 for the Panthers (5-3). Corhen added 10 rebounds.
The Panthers led by 12 points on multiple occasions in the first half, going up 16-4 within the first six minutes. The Buckeyes responded with an 11-0 run, before allowing a 9-0 run and a 34-24 halftime lead for the Panthers.
The Buckeyes (6-1) took the lead for the first time with 8:41 remaining in the second half.
Devin Royal scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, going 4 of 8 from deep and scoring 17 in the second half. Bruce Thornton had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Christoph Tilly had all 10 of his points in the second half, making all eight of his free throws. Ohio State was 13 for 13 at the free-throw line, while Pittsburgh was 9 for 15.
“We knew coming in that in order for us to have a chance to win, we had to defend them and make them uncomfortable,” Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel said. “I thought we got off to a really good start, so we were ready to play defensively. We did a really good job early offensively. We shared it, we moved it, and we got good looks.”
OHIO STATE (6-1): Noel 0-2 0-0 0, Royal 9-15 0-0 22, Tilly 1-8 8-8 10, Mobley 1-3 0-2 3, Thornton 7-15 3-3 18, Bynum 3-5 0-0 7, Cupps 0-2 2-2 2, Njegovan 2-4 0-0 4, Chatman 0-0 0-0 0, White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals–23-54 13-15 66.
PITTSBURGH (5-3): Corhen 6-14 5-10 18, Siulepa 1-9 0-0 2, Minor 7-14 1-1 18, Witherspoon 4-14 3-4 11, Dunning 8-13 1-1 18, Indrusaitis 0-3 0-0 0, Amadou Kante 0-2 0-0 0. Totals–26-69 10-16 67.
Halftime–Pittsburgh 34-24. 3-Point Goals–Ohio State 7-24 (Royal 4-8, Bynum 1-2, Mobley 1-3, Thornton 1-5, Cupps 0-2, Noel 0-2, Tilly 0-2), Pittsburgh 5-23 (Minor 3-8, Corhen 1-3, Dunning 1-6, Indrusaitis 0-1, Siulepa 0-2, Witherspoon 0-3). Rebounds–Ohio State 35 (Thornton 13), Pittsburgh 31 (Corhen 10). Assists–Ohio State 8 (Cupps 3), Pittsburgh 6 (Minor, Witherspoon 2). Total Fouls–Ohio State 17, Pittsburgh 17.
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