ed the points.North America was without top defenseman

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Josh Hart loved Villanovas defense, saying it was biggest reason why the third-ranked Wildcats blew past Wake Forest on Friday.Harts shooting helped a bunch, too.Hart scored a career-high 30 points off six 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats to a 96-77 victory over Demon Deacons. Villanova (4-0) advanced to the finals of the Charleston Classic, slowing down a Wake Forest offense that scored 103 points a day earlier.We were all ready, Hart said.Especially Hart, the senior preseason All-American who made five of his teams first six shots to put the Wildcats up 16-8. Villanovas team defense made certain Wake Forest (3-1) would not mount a comeback.Our defense really fueled our offense, Hart said. Getting those stops early on got us playing basketball.Hart hit 11 of 14 shots overall and six of his eight long-range attempts. He added four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.Mikal Bridges had 19 points and Kris Jenkins, the hero of Villanovas championship win last April, added 16.Wake Forest never could get back in it.John Collins had 17 points to lead six Demon Deacons in double-figure scoring. The team shot 50 percent (29 of 58) and had just four turnovers. Not a bad showing against the countrys No. 3 team?We lost by 20, Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said. It was a beat down.Villanova will play UCF or the College of Charleston for the title on Sunday night.Not everything went right for Hart, who was whistled for a technical foul late in the second half with his team ahead double digits when he got tied up and jawed with Wake Forests Bryant Crawford down low.Still, he surpassed his previous top total of 27 points against Akron last season.Wake Forest made a late run, slicing a 20-point deficit to 87-75 on John Collins bucket with 3:55 to go. But Jalen Brunson answered with an uncontested jam for the defending NCAA Tournament champions.When Kris Jenkins recovered a loose ball moments later, the Wildcats and coach Jay Wright celebrated as if theyd won another national title.BIG PICTUREVillanova owns November. The Wildcats are among the best starters in college basketball and continued that against Wake Forests powerful offense (Deacons came in averaging 92 points a game) for its 23rd straight November victory. Villanova has won early season November tournaments in 2013-14 (Battle 4 Atlantis), 2014-15 (Legends Classic) and 2015-16 (NIT Season Tipoff). Theyll for a fourth consecutive November crown on Sunday night at TD Arena.These tournaments are great, Wright said. These guys, they get this. Its fun to be a part of this.Wake Forest does not yet have the defense to match its offense. The Demon Deacons got in a first-half hole by leaving Villanovas senior stars Hart and Jenkins wide open for several 3-pointers. Jenkins hit two straight in the opening period to send Wake Forest down 41-25. Hart hit six from behind the arc with few defenders nearby.POLL IMPLICATIONSWith No. 1 Dukes loss earlier this week, count on Villanova to move up a spot as long as it lifts the Charleston Classic trophy on Sunday night.INJURY CONCERNSWright said freshman forward Tim Delaney will have an MRI done on his surgically repaired hip and is unsure when hell return. Wright said junior guard Phil Booth was held out because of continuing tendinitis worries in his left knee after offseason surgery. Booth played 23 minutes on Thursday and Wright thought resting until Sunday would do him well.UP NEXTVillanova: Will play either College of Charleston or UCF on Sunday for Charleston Classic championship.Wake Forest: Will play either College of Charleston or UCF on Sunday for third place at the Charleston Classic. Jesus Molina Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. Edson Alvarez Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. http://www.soccermexicojerseysteamstore.com/jonathan-dos-santos-mexico-jersey/ . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Hugo Ayala Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. Marco Fabian Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. TORONTO -- For the first time since Team North America came together, coach Todd McLellan had to re-instill some belief.With players slumping at their lockers after allowing Russia to score four goals in under seven minutes, McLellan told them they were better than they thought they were at that moment. Young North America was the better team Monday night, but a lopsided stretch was enough to give Russia a much-needed 4-3 victory in a fast-paced, end-to-end showcase of the sport at the World Cup of Hockey.Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko scored on consecutive shots during a 6:14 stretch, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 42 saves on 45 shots to hand the 23-and-under mix of American and Canadian players its first loss of the tournament.We just lost our way for 10 minutes, McLellan said. I thought we were hesitant. ... They were quicker, they were stronger. They stripped us a number of times. We looked slow, and thats not the way we play. Slow reading, slow reacting and slow to the scoreboard.Toronto Maple Leafs 2016 No. 1 pick Auston Matthews scored on a 2-on-1 rush off a pass from Edmonton Oilers 2015 No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, and Morgan Rielly and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had goals for North America (1-1), which outshot Russia 45-23.Russias goals in quick succession were team goals, McLellan said, but they also led to the end of goaltender Matt Murrays night. Murray, who stopped the first 15 shots he faced before Russia broke through, jammed his thumb in the second period, but McLellan said he was healthy enough to play.Murray was on the wrong end of a young teams young mistakes. The efficiency of speed and skill that worked in a win over Finland on Sunday stopped for a short period of time against high-powered Russia, and it proved disastrous.We got away from our game, trying to be too cute and getting pucks instead of going to the net going east to west too much, Matthews said. Theyre a team that likes to turn the puck over and get going the other way. Thats something weve got to clean up.On their heels early, the Russians responded well after opening the World Cup with a loss to Sweden. Their penalty kill went 6 for 7, led by Bobrovsky, whoo also stopped McDavid on a second-period breakaway.ddddddddddddObviously we knew we cant lose the game, captain Alex Ovechkin said. If we lose the game were obviously out of the tournament. Back to back, I think we played a solid second and our penalty-kill guys, (Ivan) Telegin, blocked the shots, Bobrovsky. You can see everybody sacrificing, and we get the result.It wasnt the result North America wanted, but a furious third-period comeback showed that it didnt lose confidence. McDavid blamed himself and his teammates for failing to capitalize on an extended 5-on-3 power play.We definitely let the team down there, McDavid said.North America still had another opportunity 6 on 4 in the final minute. Shayne Gostisbehere hit the post behind Bobrovsky with 14 seconds left, and Russia held on.Thats not the way to play the Russians, but I thought we did a good job of responding and really making a game of it, McDavid said. I think thats a good sign, but in a short tournament like this, we needed the points.North America was without top defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who McLellan called day to day with an upper-body injury. Jacob Trouba replaced him, but Ekblads absence created a void of extra minutes that defensemen had to fill.Many made costly mistakes, and Russia was more than willing and able to take advantage of turnovers and defensive mix-ups.I think some hockey god got on our side, and we just got good luck, said Kuznetsov, who made a FIFA inspired wing-flapping celebration after his goal.For all of Russias energy during its stretch, losing like that taught North America a lesson about regaining composure and the value of playing a complete 60 minutes.Unfortunately, when it goes into the record books, all 60 count, McLellan said.North America wraps up round-robin play Wednesday against Sweden, while Russia faces Finland on Thursday.Game notes John Gibson only faced four shots in relief of Murray and stopped them all. ... Namestnikov scored in his World Cup debut, replacing Vadim Shipachev.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno . ' ' '