No. 1 Michigan State Cruises Past Albion, 85-50

East Lansing, Mich. - Junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) scored 19 points senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) added 16 points and 13 different players scored as No. 1 Michigan State beat Albion College, 85-50, in an exhibition game at the Breslin Center on Tuesday night.

Tillman scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, while adding eight rebounds and Winston finished with 16 points, nine assists and four steals to lead the Spartans.

Summary

Michigan State led by 15 points, 40-25, and quickly pushed the lead to 20-plus points with a 10-2 run over the opening 4:23 of the second half, taking a 53-27 lead on a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Thomas Kithier (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston)
The lead grew to 30 points, 67-36, on a layup from Tillman at the 9:21 mark.
MSU took its biggest lead of the game, 81-40, on a pull-up 3-pointer from Winston with 5:03 to play, and matched it at 84-43 when redshirt sophomore Brock Washington (Southfield, Mich./Southfield Christian) hit a 3-pointer with 4:03 left.
The Spartans had opened up a 40-25 lead at the break despite 10 first half turnovers, with Tillman scoring 11 points and Winston adding 10 points and five assists.
MSU took an early 11-4 lead on a layup from Kithier at the 16:32 mark, but Albion closed to within 18-16 on a 3-pointer from Jamezell Davis near the midway point of the first half.
A 13-5 run by the Spartans over the final 5:39 of the first half pushed the lead to 40-25 after a dunk from sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville).

Key Stats

Michigan State out-rebounded Albion, 55-33, a +22 advantage.
MSU shot 45.7 percent from the floor (32-of-70), including 52.9 percent in the first half (18-of-34).
The Spartans limited Albion to 32.2 percent shooting (19-of-59), including 31.2 percent (10-of-32) in the opening 20 minutes.
Michigan State had only two players in double figures, but had four players score at least nine points and had 13 score in the game.
MSU scored 34 points in the paint and scored 20 points off turnovers.
The Spartans scored 35 bench points and 20 second-chance points.
Kithier finished with a team-high 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end
MSU finished with 22 offensive rebounds and 11 blocks, including five from sophomore forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central).

Notes

Michigan State senior guard Cassius Winston played against his brother, Khy, a freshman guard at Albion College. Winston's other brother, sophomore guard Zach Winston, is a sophomore and did not play because of an injury.
MSU freshman guard Steven Izzo (East Lansing, Mich./Lansing Catholic), the son of Head Coach Tom Izzo, played three minutes and hit 1-of-2 free throws.
This was the 12th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Albion and the first since the teams played on Jan. 22, 1945.

Up Next
No. 1 Michigan State opens the 2019-20 regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 5, playing No. 2 Kentucky in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The game will air on ESPN at 9:30 p.m., with Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Holly Rowe calling all of the action.