Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins lead No. 2 Villanova past Charleston

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Jay Wright and his Villanova players are ready to enjoy Thanksgiving and take a much-needed break from basketball.

Josh Hart had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Kris Jenkins scored 11 points and No. 2 Villanova knocked off feisty College of Charleston 63-47 on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats improved to 6-0 a season after winning the national championship but struggled to put away the overmatched Cougars in their fourth game in seven days and their sixth in 13.

“It was not a pretty game,” Wright said. “We just found a way to gut it out.”

Mikal Bridges and Eric Paschall added eight points and five rebounds apiece for the Wildcats, who shot just 5 for 17 from 3-point range and 8 for 22 from the field in the second half.

Jarrell Brantley led Charleston with 18 points and seven rebounds. The Cougars shot 4 for 22 from 3-point range and committed 14 turnovers.

“It’s a good way to learn,” Brantley said. “They’re a really good team and do a lot of things right. It will only help.”

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 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.

He was called back into the game in the final minutes after Wright admitted to putting his walk-ons in too early — not that it bothered the team’s star senior.

“I’m not really worried about minutes,” said Hart, a Wooden Award candidate. “I’d love to play the whole game if the coach lets me.”

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.

THIS WEEK IN COLLEGE HOOPS