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Harden, cold shooting does in UCLA

Jan 18, 2009 - 5:57 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- James Harden got hot when it counted while UCLA was stone cold.

Harden scored 24 points, including a driving layup late in overtime to help lead No. 15 Arizona State to a 61-58 victory over seventh-ranked UCLA on Saturday.

Jeff Pendergraph added 18 points for the Sun Devils (15-3, 4-2 Pac-10), who rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half as UCLA went the final 8:06 of regulation without scoring a point.

Darren Collison hit two free throws with 3:41 left in overtime to break the drought and tie the game at 56-56.

"We didn't stop them all 13 minutes," Arizona State coach Herb Sendek told the Los Angeles Times. "They missed some open shots. A game like this that goes overtime, a shot here, a free throw there, one play called one way or another ... and the result is different. And that's part of what drives coaches crazy and what adds to the great excitement of basketball."

Harden scored on a drive to give Arizona State a 59-58 lead with 38 seconds to play and Derek Glasser added two free throws with 11 seconds to go.

Fittingly, UCLA was unable to get off a 3-pointer on its final possession as Arizona State swarmed the arc defensively and the Bruins moved the ball around the perimeter right up to the final horn.

The Bruins finished 43 percent (22-of-52) from the field and 7-of-25 on 3-pointers as they struggled to get good looks against the Sun Devils' zone.

"That's their bread and butter," UCLA guard Josh Shipp told the Times. "That's what makes it so effective. They're working on that every day in practice. Not like it's something new to them."

Shipp scored 16 points and Collison added 14 for the Bruins (14-3, 4-1), who had their 15-game home winning streak snapped.

The Bruins had beaten the Sun Devils in eight previous games and Sendek picked up his first win vs. the Bruins in five tries.

"I don't have any formula against UCLA, I guarantee you that," Sendek told the newspaper. "We were fortunate to get a win today."

Harden drew a questionable foul on Shipp out front and made two free throws with 22 seconds left to tie the game, 54-54.

UCLA had the last shot in regulation as Collison dribbled down the clock and got off a jumper that bounced off the rim and put the game into overtime.

Pendergraph dunked off a nice feed from Harden to open overtime and cap what was a 13-0 run for Arizona State before Collison's free throws.