Villanova finishes Spanish tour with 84-58 victory over Select Team

The Villanova Wildcats have been en fuego on their summer tour of Spain, going 3-0 in Barcelona and Madrid, capping the trip with an 84-58 takedown of a Spanish Select Team this morning at the Real Madrid practice facility. The ‘Cats were led by red-hot senior Josh Hart with 23 points, while sophomore transfer Eric Paschall chipped in 21 points as well.

“It really came from Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins being at the top of their games and dialed in to all of our Villanova basketball values,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright stated. “There were a lot of valuable aspects to this trip. But I think Josh and Kris’ leadership was one of the most important.”

Hart also pulled down seven rebounds in 25 minutes of action, while Jenkins scored nine points in the first quarter to help them get ahead 21-11 after the first 10 minutes. The ‘Cats opened the game with an early 13-4 run to help put some distance between them and their opponent.

Jenkins finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds. Mikal Bridges was also a key contributor with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Paschall, a former A-10 Freshman of the Year, played great game in his third exhibition as a Wildcat. He connected on 7-of-11 from the field in his best offensive effort yet. He also added seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Showing off the fruits of some of his practice-facility efforts while sitting out last season as a transfer from Fordham; when he lost weight and got into better shape.

“Eric just got better each game,” Wright stated. “It was a great trip for Eric. He really started to understand how to fit his game within our team concept and he did it extremely well.”

It wasn’t all business for the Wildcats in Spain, however. They took in a bull fight, enjoyed the sights around town in Madrid and Barcelona, and took in the culture of the European nation since arriving.

“I was really pleased that with the travel, foreign food, and injuries that our guys came out and played their best game on the last day of the trip,” Wright stated. “The attention to detail right from the start was tremendous.”

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