NORMAL, Ill.  ? Up until the final buzzer of Sunday evening's Missouri Valley Conference basketball contest between Indiana State and Illinois State it appeared that senior Jay Tunnell's career-best 28 points would be the story as the Sycamores came back from down as many as 11 points in the final three minutes of regulation behind a string of 3-point shots from the ISU center. It turned out that junior guard Harry Marshall's career-high 24 points would be the trump card as he reached his career-best number on a buzzer beating shot which sent shockwaves through the 7,849 fans in attendance in Redbird Arena who witnessed a stunning 75-73 Indiana State victory.

The Sycamores improved to 5-19, 3-10 MVC while the ?Birds fell to 19-5, 8-5 MVC.

Tunnell was the story in regulation as he paced the Sycamores to an offensive explosion over the game's final four minutes. ISU hit six field goals over that span, all of which were 3-pointers. Tunnell was responsible for four of those as he helped the Sycamores overcome a scoring drought that began at the 8:05 mark and found ISU down 53-42 until Tunnell began his heroics.

Tunnell reached his career-high 28 points on a 9-of-12 shooting performance from the field, including an 8-of-9 mark from 3-point range. His first triple of four in the game's final four minutes made it 53-45 with four minutes left. Tunnell then connected on another to make it 53-48 with 2:21 showing.

After a steal in the press, Marshall got into the act with a three of his own with two minutes left which made it 55-51. Tunnell then hit a triple with 1:15 left to make it 55-54 and then hit yet another with just under a minute remaining to get ISU within a point after a Redbird score at 58-57. Illinois State took a 60-57 lead with 39 seconds on the clock on a field goal by Lloyd Phillips, but Rashad Reed had the answer with a 3-pointer of his own to knot the game at 60 points each with 27.6 seconds on the clock.

A buzzer beating attempt by Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge hit the rim twice and fell to the ground to send the game into overtime.

The Sycamores entered the game a perfect 2-0 on the season in overtime and would look to keep that streak alive in front of a hostile crowd.

Tunnell continued his sharp shooting a 3-pointer to give ISU a 63-62 advantage and then Jordan Printy followed with a triple of his own to make it 66-63 with 3:30 on the clock. Tunnell would score his final points of the masterpiece with the Sycamores' final of 14 3-pointers at the 2:46 mark of overtime to give the Sycamores what seemed to be a commanding 69-63 lead.

Illinois State trimmed the Sycamore lead down to 69-68 until Marshall was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1:13 left in the game. He hit 2-of-3 charity tosses to make it 71-68 and then he hit two more with 49.5 seconds left to make it 73-68. Champ Oguchi hit a 3-pointer at the 33.6 second mark to make it 73-71 and then after a steal in the press, Eldridge hit a pair of free throws to knot the game again at 73 all with just over 20 seconds left.

Needing a bucket, the Sycamores went to their leading scorer and he produced as ISU cleared the floor and let Marshall work his magic. Marshall worked himself free at the top of the key, took a shot from just inside the 3-point line and hit nothing but net sending what was a deafening roar in Redbird Arena silent save for the joyous shrill of the buzzer which signaled the Sycamores' road victory, 75-73.

The Redbirds jumped out to an 11-4 lead after a three-pointer from the corner by Champ Oguchi.  However, Jay Tunnell quickly answered with a triple of his own to cut the lead to 11-7 at the 12:34 mark in the first half.  The long distance barrage continued as Emmanuel Holloway nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Redbirds a 14-7 lead while Rashad Reed answered with a three of his own from the top of the circle to make the score 14-10 with 10:49 left on the clock.

Following a defensive stop, Harry Marshall converted on a fast break layup and Carl Richard made one of his own, was fouled and hit his free throw to convert the traditional three-point play and give the Sycamores their first lead of the game at 15-14.  A bucket by Brandon Sampay on the ensuing Illinois State possession gave the Redbirds the lead back at 16-15 with 9:22 remaining.

The Sycamores regained the lead at 17-16 on a layup by Tunnell and Jordan Printy connected from three-point range to give ISU a 20-16 advantage.  Sampay then scored a bucket in the paint to cut the ISU lead to two, before Printy hit a jumper off the glass to put the Sycamores up 22-18.  The formula continued to work for the Redbirds, as Sampay hit another jumper in the paint to tighten the lead at 22-20.

Marshall gave the Sycamores a bit more breathing room as he nailed a trey from the top of the key to make the score 25-20 with 2:34 left in the half.  The see-saw battle continued as Llyod Phillips connected from three-point range to cut the lead to two and Osiris Eldridge knotted the game at 25-25 with two free throws with 1:08 remaining in the half.  That is where the score would stay heading into the locker room at halftime, as both teams missed shots on their final possessions of the half.

Tunnell finished with his fifth career double-double on the strength of the 28-point, 12-rebound effort. Marshall's 24 points were also a career-best.

The Sycamores overcame a 32.1 percent shooting clip in the first half to torch the nets for 48 percent in the second stanza, including seven 3-pointers. ISU continued its blazing pace in the overtime, hitting 80 percent of their shots, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Oguchi paced the ?Birds with 19 points, while Phillips has 14 and Eldridge added 13.

Indiana State returns home on Wednesday to square off with the Drake Bulldogs.  Tip off is set for 7:05 p.m. on Nellie & John Wooden Court at Hulman Center.