Arizona St. 72, No. 7 Stanford 68

2/15/2008 2:38 AM

By ANDREW BAGNATO
AP Sports Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -Down seven points with 1:49 to play, Arizona State looked as if it was finished.

The Sun Devils were only getting started.

Behind star freshman James Harden's 23 points, Arizona State rallied to beat No. 7 Stanford 72-68 in overtime on Thursday night. Harden scored the Sun Devils' last four points in regulation and the first eight in overtime.

``It's just remarkable that this team somehow found a way to land on their feet tonight,'' Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said.

It's the Sun Devils' third victory over a ranked team in two seasons under Sendek - one more than they managed from 1995-2006.

Arizona State (16-7, 6-5 Pac-10) played the overtime without Jeff Pendergraph, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. The Sun Devils are 4-0 in overtime, including a victory over Arizona in Tucson four days earlier.

``A lot of guys don't like to play OTs,'' Pendergraph said. ``We love it.''

For a long time, overtime seemed like a dream for the Sun Devils, who watched as Stanford went on a 26-2 run midway through the second half. That spurt wiped out a 10-point ASU lead and gave Stanford a 51-37 lead with 7:59 to play.

``It seemed like about 100 to 2 to me,'' Sendek said.

But ASU began to chip away, battling the taller Cardinal for every rebound and loose ball.

``They made plays,'' Stanford coach Trent Johnson said. ``We didn't. You have to give credit to Arizona State. They played well.''

Brook Lopez scored 30 points and twin brother Robin Lopez had 16 for Stanford (20-4, 9-3), which snapped a seven-game win streak.

Arizona State still trailed 57-50 with 1:49 to play in regulation. The Sun Devils' improbable comeback began with a 3-pointer by little-used freshman Rihards Kuksiks, cutting Stanford's lead to 57-53 with 1:37 to play.

After a Cardinal free throw, Ty Abbott hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 58-56 with 33 seconds remaining.

That's when Harden asserted himself. He scored four points in the final 26 seconds - two on a jam and two on a rebound of his own miss to tie it at 60-60 with 6 seconds left.

Harden's heroics might not have mattered if the Cardinal had been able to convert from the free-throw line. Stanford missed 4-of-8 free throws in the final 1:49.

``We had an opportunity to close out the game in regulation if we make a few free throws,'' Johnson said.

The Cardinal left the door open for Harden, who showed no signs of a flu virus that had slowed him last weekend.

``I'm fine,'' Harden said.

He was more than that. Harden hit 8-of-17 shots from the floor, and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also had five steals and five assists - along with four turnovers - in 41 minutes.

``I tried to step up and make big plays for my team,'' Harden said. ``It's crunch time, and my teammates look for me.''

Harden scored Arizona State's first eight points in overtime as the Sun Devils took a 69-65 lead with 41 seconds to go.

Stanford's Mitch Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left in overtime to pull the Cardinal within 69-68. But the Cardinal missed a flurry of shots down the stretch, and the Sun Devils' Derek Glasser hit two free throws and Eric Boateng made one to clinch the victory.