City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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Villanova used a dominant second half to pull away from the UCF Golden Knights, and, behind an evenly-spread scoring effort, won the Charleston Classic championship by a final score of 67-57. 

At First...
The Golden Knights kept things close throughout most of the first half, holding a few leads and never trailing by more than five until the six-minute mark. UCF led by a score of 12-9 midway through, but Villanova scored the next eight points and kept that lead through the remainder of the period.

Villanova's lead ballooned to twelve thanks to a Jalen Brunson triple and a pair of Mikal Bridges free throws that were book-ended by a layup to close the half by Donte DiVincenzo that would send the Wildcats to the break up 35-23. 

Turning Point...
UCF came out firing to start the second half, ripping off a quick 7-0 run and suddenly making things close once again. They trailed by only five at the under-16 timeout, but the defending champs responded, of course, and opened the lead up to its biggest at the time, 58-41, over the course of the next ten minutes.

By that point, just under seven minutes remained on the clock, and 'Nova had the game all but locked up thanks to the strong play of their guard trio of Bridges, Brunson and DiVincenzo. 

The Golden Knights made a late push, cutting the lead to as few as ten in the final two minutes, but by that point it was too late to mount a comeback.

Standout Stars...
Five different Villanova players scored in double digits, and the Wildcats were led by Josh Hart with 15 points and five rebounds, behind 6-of-11 shooting from the field. DiVincenzo also added 13 points, while Jenkins and Brunson each tacked on another 12 in the balanced scoring attack. 

UCF 7-foot-6 sophomore Tacko Fall finished with a double-double of 20 points and ripped down 13 rebounds, leading his team in both categories.

Noteworthy Numbers...
0: The number of shots blocked by Fall, who stands as the tallest player in college basketball. 

2: UCF only made two free throws in the loss to Villanova in seven tries, for a dismal shooting percentage at the line of 28 percent. The Wildcats, in comparison, shot a perfect 12-of-20 at the free throw stripe. 

16: Although most of it came from DiVincenzo, Villanova's bench played a substantial role, outscoring UCF 16-4. The remaining three points came from Eric Paschall, who didn't see as much floor time having committed four fouls. 

Up Next...
No. 3 Villanova (5-0) vs. Charleston -- Wed., Nov. 23 @ 7 P.M.