VILLANOVA, Pa. – Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with a game-and season-high 18 points as College of Charleston fell to No. 2-ranked and defending national champion Villanova, 63-47, on Wednesday night before a sellout crowd of 6,500 fans at The Pavilion.
 
Brantley also grabbed seven rebounds for the Cougars (3-3), who shot 35.2 percent from the field (19-of-54) and committed 14 turnovers against the Wildcats' defense.
 
CofC led 5-2 out of gates, but Villanova went on a 20-4 run to gain a comfortable cushion they would maintain the rest of the way. Charleston Classic MVP Josh Hart led the undefeated Wildcats (6-0) with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Kris Jenkins added 11.
 
The Cougars will return home and host USC Upstate (3-2) in a post-Thanksgiving matchup on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. Sunday's game is Kids Day and youth tickets are priced at $5. Free mini basketballs will be given to the first 300 kids. Tickets can be purchase by calling the CofC Ticket Office at: (843) 953-COFC or purchasing online at www.CofCSports.com/tickets
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• It marked the fourth all-time in program history for College of Charleston to face the defending national champions next to North Carolina (2009-10), Louisville (2013-14) and Connecticut (2014-15).
• Villanova takes a one-game lead in the all-time series with College of Charleston, 2-1. Both team last met in the 2006 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-for-3 shooting from behind the three-point line and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven of the team's 30 rebounds. Brantley extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games.
• Nick Harris led the Cougars for the third time of his career in the rebounding column (8) against Villanova.
• CofC scored 26 of its 47 points in the paint and were only sent to the free throw line a season-low six times in which they converted five (83.3%).
• Grant Riller made his first career start and scored five points including a long-range three-pointer in the second half at Villanova

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
 
On the game …
"We struggled against Villanova tonight. We watched them for four days in the Charleston Classic. They really defend you, switch everything and are physical. It was a combination of things. Some of it was their defense and they rebound the ball well. In this game in particular, they are a very good defensive team and made it hard. I thought we could score more than 47 points. There were some jitters, especially with a sell-out crowd here. There was a lot of energy in the building. We have to continue to clean things up offensively, especially with whom we are trying to get the ball to. Tonight, Villanova made that hard. But, we knew it would be hard coming in."
 
On playing the defending national champions and how it helps the team …
"It's the ultimate challenge. You get to play the best team in college basketball. They won the championship last year and are ranked No. 2. I thought it was perfect situation with an arena like The Pavilion with 6,000 seats, which is similar to some of the CAA schools in terms of size. I thought there were a lot of positives to come in here and play this game. Everyone expects you to lose this game, but if you win it, you shock the world. We knew it would be hard, but at this time of year, hard things are good for your team."
 
On the play of Jarrell Brantley …
"He is playing really well right now. We got him the ball a lot in the second half. They (Villanova) were switching everything from one through five. It was hard to get the ball in certain spots, especially in the post. In the second half, we simplified some things to get the ball to him. We scored and got him in different spots on the floor where he could be effective. We need to have him have that same balance (18 points, 7 rebounds and 6-of-10 shooting from the field) for the rest of the season."