EAST LANSING, Mich. – Despite an 85-50 loss in exhibition action to Michigan State University, the Albion College men's basketball team left the Breslin Center with gratitude.

"This has been an unbelievable experience for Albion College and our players," Albion Head Coach Jody May said. "I want to say thanks to Coach (Tom) Izzo… not only is he a great coach but he is a great person and we don't recognize enough of the things that he does in this community and in this state and for the game of college basketball. For a younger coach, he is a great mentor for me and someone that I can look up to. With that being said, I want to say thanks to Michigan State."

Albion made shots early on and it trailed by just seven, 25-18, at the third media timeout of the first half.

Gabe Brown scored five points as the Spartans ripped off a 9-2 run to build a 34-20 lead at the final media timeout of the first half. Michigan State led 40-25 at halftime.

"We played fairly well the first half and some things went our way and then Michigan State started to hit some shots the second half," May said.

Xavier Tillman scored 19 and grabbed eight rebounds and Cassius Winston chipped in with 16 for Michigan State.

Jamezell Davis, an all-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association first team performer for Albion last season, scored 17.

"We have got some talented kids coming back but we lost six seniors," May said. "We have to find a rotation and eight to 10 guys that can play. If we can find (the guys in the rotation) then we have got to work on consistency. We showed some signs tonight against a really good team being pretty good defensively and being able to compete on the boards. We open up next week so we have to figure some things out but I think we have got a chance if we can be consistent."

Albion's first official game is a Nov. 8 date at the University of Mount Union.

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlbionMBB on Twitter and albion.mbb on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found @gobrits on Twitter, AlbionAthletics on Instagram and Albion College Athletics on Facebook.

Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality at Albion College. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated competition facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball teams that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.

The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu