This problem is similar to a Sudoku puzzle in that it is a pure LOGIC problem. Professional mathematicians may employ logical reasoning skills to find patterns, but that doesn’t make the logic that they use “math.”
Sorry, I’m pulling rank on this one. I am a professional mathematician, and as one of my grad school professors once said in reply to an undergraduate asking, “Will there be proofs on the test or will it be all math?”:
MATHEMATICS IS PROOFS!