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Duke needs overtime to beat Virginia Tech

Feb 25, 2012 - 9:02 PM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Austin Rivers paced all scorers with 23 points as No. 5 Duke escaped Virginia Tech, 70-65, in overtime on Saturday.

Seth Curry added 19 points, while Miles Plumlee pulled down 15 rebounds and scored four of his five points in overtime for the Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2 ACC), who have won six straight and nine of 10.

Cadarian Raines, Erick Green and Dorenzo Hudson each had 16 points for the Hokies (15-14, 4-10), who lost their second consecutive heartbreaker to a ranked opponent. Tech lost 61-59 against No. 25 Virginia on Tuesday. Dorian Finney-Smith grabbed 12 boards in defeat.

The tightly-contested game saw 13 ties and 12 lead changes, but none more important than the one giving the Blue Devils a two-point edge on Plumlee's jumper 1:01 into overtime.

Tech was held scoreless for almost three minutes in OT as Duke built a five- point lead, but Hudson hit a critical three-pointer to cut it to 63-61.

After Rivers made one-of-two from the line, Hudson drained another long shot that appeared to be a game-tying trey, but his right foot was on the line, and so Duke still led by one.

Hudson couldn't continue his hot hand on the Hokies' next trip down the floor, missing a jumper down two with 34 seconds left, and the Blue Devils made six of their final eight free throws to seal the victory.

"Whatever reservoir we had there at the end, we were able to get through," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski."This team has a really good will to win. You have some shortcomings which all teams do. At the end of the day, they have a will to win. I thought Plumlee came up with some huge defensive rebounds for us, 15 for the game. We were a little short on our shots. We showed a little bit tired legs, but Austin [Rivers] was like a battering ram."

Despite its struggles early in the extra frame, Virginia Tech had multiple chances to win late in the second half.

Up 58-57 and holding possession with 48 seconds remaining, Green took the inbounds pass underneath the Duke basket and dribbled up the court, looking to put the game away. Duke's pressure forced a turnover just beyond midcourt, however.

Rivers made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with just over 32 ticks to play to tie the game at 58, and leaving the Hokies with the final possession in regulation.

But Green's jumper with five seconds to go clanked iron, and Raines' putback jump shot attempt didn't fall through either.

"I thought we did a lot of good things. We competed at a very high level but we didn't really do a good job of executing and cutting hard. We just weren't able to finish," said Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg. "We just got to keep on working, get back to practice, and try to get better."

Duke held a 26-24 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

Duke sophomore forward Josh Hairston left the game in the first half with a laceration above his eye...Duke forward Ryan Kelly fouled out with 3:07 remaining in the second half...Virginia Tech forward Victor Davila missed his fourth consecutive game with a strained groin...Duke committed seven turnovers in the first half...Green, the Hokies' leading scorer, was held scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting in the first half.