No. 12 Villanova throttles Maryland-Eastern Shore

The rules said that 12th-ranked Villanova had to play 40 minutes of basketball Monday night against Maryland-Eastern Shore, even though the Legends Classic first-round game ceased being competitive well before halftime.

So Wildcats coach Jay Wright worked on different things on offense and defense and made sure he gave everyone in his regular nine-man rotation plenty of playing time.

One of them was 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Kris Jenkins, who played 20 minutes and posted team highs of 15 points and four steals in the Wildcats' 81-44 victory over the Hawks at the Pavilion.

In the second half, Jenkins was asked to defend every position except point guard. In one sequence, he blocked a shot by 6-9 Camden High graduate Mike Myers, then beat everyone down the floor and scored on a layup at the other end.

"Kris is a quiet assassin," Wright said. "I didn't know he did anything until I looked at the numbers. He's always in the right spot. He doesn't make a lot of special plays but he's always in the right place. I don't yell at him because he's doing the right thing."

"No matter what position you play, you're still playing Villanova basketball and your instincts take over," Jenkins said. "My teammates and my captains help me a lot and show me where I need to be. They just believe in me."

The Wildcats (2-0) opened with a 13-2 blitz in the first four minutes, then outscored UMES (0-2) by 29-6 in the final 14 minutes, 50 seconds of the half to lead, 45-14. They stretched the lead to as high as 46 points in the second half.

Their defense harassed UMES into 22 turnovers. Dylan Ennis, Darrun Hilliard, and Daniel Ochefu added 10 points apiece for 'Nova. Devin Martin led the Hawks with 17 points, and Myers added 14.

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