PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Juniors Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges combined to score 35 points and helped No. 5 Villanova defeat Western Kentucky 66-58 in an opening round game at the Battle 4 Atlantis, The Wildcats move on to face Tennessee, a 78-75 victor over Purdue in this afternoon's first matchup of the day in a semifinal contest Thursday afternoon.

Brunson scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting for the day while Bridges contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Wildcats. Donte DiVincenzo, who was idled by foul trouble for portions of the first half, provided a spark with 12 points over the final 20 minutes.

"Give Western Kentucky credit," stated Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "We really got outplayed but made a run at the end. Mikal made some great steals and got our offense going off of our defense. Until that point they just really outplayed us -- tougher, smarter. I give them a lot of credit."

After averaging 97 points per outing in their first three regular season games -- wins over Columbia, Nicholls and Lafayette - the Wildcats found themselves in more rugged terrain early at Imperial Arena. The multiple zone defensive looks presented by the Hilltoppers kept VU in check as it misfired on its first seven field goal attempts and fell behind WKU 13-11 at the midpoint of the first half.

Western Kentucky, meanwhile, forced six Wildcats turnovers and the early 8-2 edge in that category helped it craft a 22-17 lead with 5:05 on the first half clock. But the Wildcats closed the period on a 10-2 run highlighted by quality defense and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Collin Gillespie.

Despite converting just .333 of its first half field goal attempts, Villanova took a 27-24 lead into the dressing room area at halftime. Brunson and Bridges each scored 10 points for the `Cats.

A 16-4 run by Villanova early in the second half pushed what was a 32-31 lead for the Wildcats out to 48-35. Bridges and Brunson were integral to the surge but Villanova also got key contributions from redshirt DiVincenco and redshirt junior Phil Booth.

Much of the heavy lifting was done by a defense that forced Western Kentucky into 16 turnovers on the day. The Wildcats outscored WKU 16-5 in points off of turnovers after halftime and 12-0 on fast break points in the final 20 minutes. After DiVincenzo drained a short transition jumper in the lane with just over three minutes remaining, Villanova's lead was 61-43.

The Hilltoppers narrowed the gap in the final minutes before the horn sounded. The final count was 66-58.

"The leadership of Mikal and Jalen helped pull us through," stated Wright. "Western Kentucky was really prepared and did a good job switching up its defenses."

In the end, Villanova held Western Kentucky to 58 points but the Wildcats believe there are more steps to climb.

"We still have to get a lot better," Brunson said. "I think we're making progress but the captains have to step up and set the tone early."

"We knew they liked to attack," stated Bridges. "We were just trying to play as a team defensively. I feel like we could have done better but we're learning. We just need to help each other out."

The 2017-18 Villanova Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.