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Duke survives with late win over Vermont

Nov 25, 2013 - 4:17 AM Durham, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Rodney Hood's free throw with five seconds left allowed No. 6 Duke to survive for a 91-90 win over Vermont at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Hood was fouled by Clancy Rugg with six seconds left and missed his first shot, but made the second for a 91-90 advantage.

Out of timeouts, Vermont quickly pushed the ball down the court, but was unable to get a shot off before time expired.

Jabari Parker posted 26 points and nine rebounds, while Hood added 22 points and seven boards for the Blue Devils (5-1), who have won four straight since a loss to Kansas on Nov. 12.

"We got lucky," Hood said. "We didn't win this game. We kind of deserved to lose the game and we got lucky."

Hector Harold scored 24 points off the bench and Rugg had 20 points for the Catamounts (1-5), who have dropped their past four.

"We battled, and I'm proud of our guys," Vermont head coach John Becker said. "We have a lot to build off of, and we want to thank Duke for the opportunity. We will take a lot of positives out of this game."

A Parker dunk just over eight minutes in gave Duke a 21-13 lead, and it reached 10 on a Hood 3-pointer at the midway mark of the first half.

The Blue Devils' lead reached as high as 15 during the period, but the Catamounts closed the frame with the final four points to make it a 51-43 Duke advantage at the break.

Trailing by 12 points after a Parker dunk 4 1/2 minutes into the second half, Vermont scored 10 straight points to close the gap.

Harold's jumper made it a 61-59 game with under 12 minutes to play, but Parker hit a jumper a bit later before hitting 1-of-2 free throws to give the Blue Devils a 69-64 lead with under 10 minutes left.

A 3-pointer from Harold with 6;59 left gave Vermont its first lead since early in the game at 74-73. The game stayed close from there, as neither side led by more than four points.

Game Notes

Duke shot 49.1 percent from the floor and grabbed 30 rebounds ... Vermont made a whopping 64.8 percent of its field goal attempts and had 24 boards ... Duke plays in New York against Alabama in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT on Wednesday ... Duke has won all three matchups against Vermont.