Eric Paschall admitted that he doesn't focus on scoring, but No. 3 Villanova needed every one of his points as they survived feisty Western Michigan 76-65 in the quarterfinals of the Gildan Charleston Classic Thursday at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.

Paschall, a transfer from Fordham, came off the bench to score 17 points. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart scored 14 points apiece, Kris Jenkins added 11 and the defending national champion Wildcats improved to 3-0.

Villanova faces Wake Forest in Friday's semifinals.

"When I go into games I just try to think with a clear mind," Paschall told reporters after the victory. "I want to defend and rebound."

Western Michigan (1-2), which went 13-19 last season, was led by Thomas Wilder with 19 points. Josh Davis scored 14 points and Seth Dugan contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.

Following the win, Villanova head coach Jay Wright was relieved.

"That was a good, tough game," Wright said. "I give Western Michigan a lot of credit. (Coach) Steve (Hawkins) had them ready to go. They were very physical defensively and forced us into a lot of contested shots. I thought they ran great half-court offense. We just kind of gutted it out. It wasn't pretty. We still have to get a lot better and I think they'll get a lot better, too."

Jenkins hit an early 3-pointer to put the Wildcats up 47-33, but Western Michigan wouldn't back down and quickly responded with a 9-0 run to close the gap to 47-42 on a layup by Bryce Moore.

The Broncos trailed 54-44 yet kept scrapping and Davis' thunderous dunk cut the lead to 54-48 with 9:58 remaining.

Western Michigan continued to play stingy defense while creating turnovers and trailed 59-56 with 6:18 left on two free throws by Wilder.

Jenkins came back with a clutch 3-pointer and Brunson drove the lane for a reverse layup as the Wildcats built the advantage back to eight at 64-56.

Paschall and Hart each hit a late 3-pointer and Villanova went back up 70-60, which was enough of a cushion to pull out a victory.

"We're just going to have to lock in defensively," Brunson said. "We have the ability to be a great defensive team. We have to listen to Coach and he'll put us into the right positions to be successful."

Hawkins doesn't believe in moral victories, yet he realizes this game will give his young Western Michigan team added confidence.

"It's something we'll have in our holster," Hawkins told reporters.

Villanova started strong by hitting six of its first eight shots on its way to a 14-5 lead.

A 3-pointer by Phil Booth pushed the Wildcats advantage to 26-15 before the Broncos began to chip away by slowing the pace of the game.

Wilder scored eight straight points and Western Michigan got within 30-27 late in the first half.

Paschall knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, extending a 38-33 lead to 11 at 44-33 by halftime.

Wilder led the Broncos with 15 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting.

Western Michigan committed 12 turnovers, leading to 15 Villanova points.

NOTES: The Villanova senior class is 22-0 in the month of November and have won all three previous tournaments -- the 2013 Battle 4 Atlantis, the 2014 Legends Classic and the 2015 NIT Season Tipoff. ... This was the first-ever meeting between these two programs. ... Western Michigan G Thomas Wilder was a preseason first-team All-MAC West Division selection.