PHILADELPHIA – Redshirt junior Blake Danielak (Georgetown, Tex./Liberty Hill) scored a team-high 13 points while sophomore Jacobo Diaz (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain/CBA Gran Canaria) nearly tallied a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds as the Crimson Hawks dropped a 94-49 decision to defending NCAA Division I national champion Villanova in exhibition play at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon.

Danielak connected on five-of-13 shots from the floor including three-for-eight from beyond the arc to go along with three rebounds and one assist. Junior Anthony Glover (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) added 11 points, five assists, two rebounds and one steal. The trio did most of their scoring in the first half as they combined for 17 of IUP's 23 first half points.

The Crimson Hawks also received contributions from junior Ayron Hutton (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry) who scored nine points and added two assists and one steal. 

Villanova opened the game on an 8-2 run before IUP responded to pull to within 10-7 on a three-pointer from Hutton at the 14:35-mark. Just over a minute later a tip-in from Diaz cut the Wildcat lead to 10-9. A fast break layup from Brandon Spain (Baltimore, Md./Glen Burnie) pulled the Crimson Hawks to within 15-13 midway through the half. The Wildcats then used an 11-0 run to push their lead to 26-13 with 7:24 left in the half. A three-pointer from Mikal Bridges extended the Villanova lead to 38-19 before the Wildcats took a 51-23 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Wildcats extended the lead to 59-28 on a dunk from Darryl Reynolds at the 16:17-mark. Danielak connected on a shot from beyond the arc to make it 59-33 with just over 14 minutes to play. With just under four minutes remaining in the half the Crimson Hawks were helped by a three-pointer from Hutton off a fast break after a missed three-pointer at the other end from Tim Delaney.

Villanova finished the game shooting at a 58.6 percent clip (34-for-58), including 54.8 percent (17-for-31) from beyond the arc. IUP shot 31 percent (18-for-58) from the floor while making nine-of-30 shots from three-point range (40 percent in the second half). The Wildcats held a 40-25 edge in rebounds.

The Wildcats were led by a game-high 27 points from Josh Hart on 11-of-14 shooting. He added five assists and four steals. Eric Paschall added 18 points while Bridges chipped in with 17 points.

The Crimson Hawks open the 2016-17 season when they host the S&T Bank Atlantic Region Challenge on Friday and Saturday, November 11-12.

For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPMens_Bball.