PITTSBURGH — Greg Kampe shook his head dejectedly. The longtime Oakland coach had just watched his team blow an 18-point second-half lead to Pittsburgh.

“This was a chance to beat Pitt,” Kampe said. “How often is Oakland ever going to beat Pitt? How often is Oakland ever going to beat Pitt here?”

Kampe’s Golden Grizzlies will have to return and try again after the Panthers pulled arguably the most impressive comeback in the 107-year history of the Pittsburgh program in a 72-62 overtime victory Saturday night.

J.J. Moore had five of his team-high 16 points in overtime, and Pitt set a school record for largest halftime deficit overcome.

The Panthers (4-0) trailed by 14 at the half and by as many as 18 in the second half, the third-largest deficit they’ve come back from at any point in a game for a win. Pitt went on a 7-0 run over the final 59 seconds of regulation to force overtime, the biggest comeback the Panthers have made in the final minute of a game for a victory.

“We didn’t shoot well at all, we didn’t defend well at all, but one thing this team did do was fight,” Pitt guard Tray Woodall said. “And we showed a lot of character.”

Woodall and Dante Taylor were on the only other Pitt team to erase a seven-point deficit over the final 1:30 of regulation — a triple-overtime winner against West Virginia Feb. 12, 2010.

This one might have been even more improbable considering the Panthers trailed from the 12:30 mark of the first half on as the Grizzlies (1-3) began a 24-8 run and led by 18 with 11:34 to go.

“We did great for 37 minutes,” said Oakland center Corey Petros, “and then the last three minutes, we collapsed.”

The Golden Grizzlies committed eight turnovers over the final 3:01 of regulation.

The only larger second-half deficit Pitt had overcome in its program’s history was 52 years ago — the Panthers came back from down 22 to beat Purdue on Dec. 2, 1960.

“Not your typical 10-point win,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, “that’s for sure.”

The Panthers improved to 95-3 against nonconference opponents in the 10-year history of the Petersen Events Center.

Corey Petros had 19 points for the Golden Grizzlies, who have never beaten a Big East opponent.

“This was a very hard moment for us, because when you come to Pitt and go against a guy who’s one of the top coaches in the country and against one of the best programs in the country, in a building that they don’t lose, we should have won the game,” Kampe said.

“Nobody in this room can tell me we shouldn’t have won.”

Out to beat an opponent from any of the six major conferences for the third consecutive season, Oakland shot 46.8 percent (22 of 47) from the field.

Eight-and-a-half minutes into the second half, a free throw by Drew Valentine extended the Grizzlies’ lead to 48-30.

But Pitt answered by hitting 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get back to within 12. When Woodall found prized freshman Steven Adams for a dunk to pull Pitt to within single digits with 7:44 to play, the student section known as the “Oakland Zoo” — named after the Pittsburgh neighborhood Pitt’s campus resides in — erupted.