LOS ANGELES — Has the ASU men’s basketball program officially arrived?

If Saturday afternoon’s contest was any indication, then the answer is yes.

A big, fat, emphatic yes.

The No. 16 Sun Devils (15-3, 4-2 Pac-10) knocked off the kings of the Pac-10 Conference — on their home court, no less — in a thrilling 61-58 overtime victory over No. 9 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.

Though he would never admit to as much, it has to be considered coach Herb Sendek’s signature win in his two-plus seasons at the helm of ASU.

“Wow,” Sendek told reporters after the game. “That’s all you need to write for your story right there.”

ASU jumped out to an early 14-4 lead and never trailed in the first half. The UCLA defense looked uncharacteristically porous to start the game, but eventually clamped down to close the gap to 27-25 by the break.

In the second half, the game took on the form most expected it to.

The Bruin defense forced turnovers. UCLA (14-3, 4-1) started sinking its 3-pointers. The crowd was in full effect.

By the time junior guard Michael Roll hit his 3-pointer with 8:14 left, UCLA led 54-43 and held what seemed to be an insurmountable lead.

Nope.

The Bruin offense went MIA. ASU sophomore guard James Harden was — well, James Harden — and the Sun Devils shutout UCLA for the rest of regulation.

Senior forward Jeff Pendergraph (18 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-10 shooting) stepped up his game, too. He combined with Harden to account for all of ASU’s points during its 11-0 run to close out the game.

One possession, though, stood out above all others.

With less than four minutes remaining, ASU had cut down the lead to 54-49. After UCLA junior forward Nikola Dragovic missed a 3-pointer, Harden started streaking down the court.

He received the ball on the fast break near midcourt before weaving through traffic in the lane for a tough layup. He missed, got his own rebound among the trees and put it back despite getting fouled, and then converted the 3-point play.

Though Harden said it wasn’t the hardest three points he’s ever scored, he said it was “up there.”

For the rest of regulation, neither team could convert a field goal, but a hand-check foul near midcourt on UCLA’s Josh Shipp provided ASU with the only opportunity it would need. Harden knocked down two free throws with 22 seconds left to knot the game up at 54-54.

UCLA had its chance at the buzzer, though. Senior guard Darren Collison freed himself up near the top of the key with a sick crossover, but his shot rimmed out to send the game to overtime.

The extra period had its fair share of drama, too.

With 15 seconds left, Shipp tried to hit a runner in the lane, but it bounced hard off the backboard and didn’t even hit the rim.

At the other end, ASU junior guard Derek Glasser knocked down two free throws to give ASU a 61-58 lead with 11 seconds left.

Then, in what had to be ASU’s finest defensive possession of the year, UCLA didn’t even get a shot off before the buzzer. Collison couldn’t find any space on the perimeter, so he passed to Roll at the top of the key. Roll went up for a shot, but had a hand in his face and passed it while the clock struck zero.

Victory.

“Our guys won it by playing good defense,” Sendek said. “It wasn’t that we outscored them. It’s a game that could have gone either way. We were lucky, we know that.”

Harden — who finished with a game-high 24 points — called it the most gratifying win in his college career. His mother, Monja Willis, stood outside the locker room after the game with an ear-to-ear smile waiting for Harden to finish up his interviews.

The outing must have been extra special for the Los Angeles native and his mother, since Harden was less than 48 hours removed from his worst performance of the season.

In ASU’s 61-49 loss to USC on Thursday, he didn’t convert a field goal (0-for-8) and was held to a career-low four points.

“[Harden] did what great players do,” ASU sophomore guard Jamelle McMillan said after the UCLA game. “He had a short memory.”

Reach the reporter at alex.espinoza@asu.edu.