TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- An overtime 30-foot heave by Harry Marshall at the buzzer lifted Indiana State (17-13, 9-9) to a 75-72 win over visiting Missouri State in a classic Missouri Valley Conference game in Terre Haute, Ind.
Marshall had just put the Sycamores up 72-69 with 14 seconds left in overtime before Missouri State's Kyle Weems knocked down his second three-pointer of the game to knot the score at 72-72. Weems' only mistake was leaving 4.5 seconds on the clock, which gave Indiana State time to inbound the ball against the Bears' pressure and get a contested three by Marshall with Nafis Ricks shadowing him every step.
The Bears (19-11, 8-10) led 29-28 at the half, and built a 46-38 advantage on a three-pointer by Adam Leonard at the 12:38 mark. After Indiana State fought back to within 49-48, Will Creekmore stepped out for a three-pointer for MSU at the 9:13 mark to put Cuonzo Martin's squad up by four again.
Keith Pickens' layup with 8:31 to go in the second half put the Bears on top 54-48, but would be MSU's last field goal for more than five minutes as Indiana State clawed back and eventually took a 62-59 lead on a three-pointer by Rashad Reed with less than two minutes to play.
Leonard was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer with just over a minute to play, but made just one of the three free throws. Jermaine Mallett got the offensive rebound which eventually led to a pair of free throws by Ricks to tie the game with less than 30 to go. The 62-62 score held up the rest of the way to force extra time.
It looked in overtime as if the Bears were finally going to break loose, getting a put-back by Will Creekmore midway through the overtime period to go up 67-64, but a three-point play by Marshall, tied the game 11 seconds later, and his pair of threes in the final 34 seconds of OT made the difference.
Marshall finished with a game-high 21 points for the Sycamores, who shot 41.8-percent (28-of-67) and were 8-of-21 (.381) from three-point range. Reed finished with 12 for ISU.
The Bears got 20 from Leonard, 16 from Ricks and 11 from Mallett, whle Weems snagged a game-high 12 rebounds. Missouri State was 3-for-8 from the field in overtime and 23-of-59 (.390) for the game.
Leonard and Weems combined for 7 three-pointers to make them the most productive three-point tandem in a Bears' season, now with 148.
The Bears will head to St. Louis for the State Farm MVC Tournament as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed, depending on the rest of today's Valley results. MSU will open the tournament on Thursday night. For more information, go to www.ArchMadness.com.
In the first half, Missouri State has survived three runs by homestanding Indiana State, but managed to hold a 29-28 lead at the intermission. The Bears jumped out to a 13-4 lead as the Sycamores missed seven of their first nine shots in the first half. A three-pointer by Leonard at the 12:59 mark put MSU up by nine before ISU rolled off an 11-2 run to tie the game, 15-15, after a break-away dunk by Dwayne Lathan.
A three-point play by Marshall put Indiana State up briefly, 18-17, with 7:10 to go, before Leonard knocked down another three for the Bears 18 seconds later. From there, the Bears built their advantage to five points three different times and led by four on the last possession of the half before a three-pointer out of the right corner by Aaron Carter made it a one-point game at the break.
