Hart, Jenkins lead No. 2 Villanova past Charleston
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Josh Hart had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Kris Jenkins scored 11 points and No. 2 Villanova rolled past the College of Charleston 63-47 on Wednesday night.
Mikal Bridges and Eric Paschall added eight points apiece for the Wildcats, who improved to 6-0 a season after winning the national championship.
Jarrell Brantley led Charleston with 18 points and seven rebounds. The Cougars shot 4 for 22 from 3-point range and committed 14 turnovers.
Jenkins, who famously hit the title-winning shot to beat North Carolina at the buzzer last April, was held out of the starting lineup by head coach Jay Wright because he missed a class. But the senior forward came in just 3 minutes into the game and played 28 minutes, shooting 4 for 7 from the field.
Hart, who won MVP of the 2016 Gildan Charleston Classic after leading the Wildcats to the tournament title on Sunday, also shot 4 for 7 from the field and 2 for 3 from 3-point range.
The Cougars led 5-2 out of gates but the Wildcats went on a 20-4 run to gain a comfortable cushion they would maintain the rest of the way.
BIG PICTURE
Charleston: After starting a season with three straight wins for the first time since 2011-12, the Cougars have dropped three in a row to fall back to .500. But they will have some easier games coming up before entering play in the Colonial Athletic Association, where they were picked to finish fourth.
Villanova: The defending national champs continued to roll through the early portion of their schedule. Four of their next five games come against Philadelphia Big 5 rivals, where the competition is always heated, with a marquee matchup vs. Notre Dame sandwiched in between.
UP NEXT
Charleston aims to snap its three-game losing streak when it hosts USC Upstate on Sunday.
Villanova will look for a record 15th straight Big 5 win against Penn at the historic Palestra on Tuesday.