YPSILANTI, Mich. - Playing its first game in 321 days including its first against a Mid-American Conference opponent since 1988, the Calvin men's basketball team aquitted itself well, falling at Division I Eastern Michigan University 67-56 Thursday evening.

Calvin (0-1) trailed 62-56 after a three-point shot by senior Thad Shymanski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) with 40 seconds to play. Eastern Michigan then beat Calvin's full-court press for a three-point play to go up nine and keep the Knights from getting within further striking distance.

Having last played in the MIAA Tournament semifinals last February 28 against Adrian, Calvin showed some rust but also strong effort in trailing just 31-26 at halftime.

Junior Jordan Katje (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian HS) sparked Calvin in the first half with eight points off the bench.

Calvin crept to within a point at 34-33 on a jumper by Shymanski with 17:47 left in the second half.

Eastern Michigan built a double-digit lead at 46-35 on a pair of free throws by Yeikson Montero. The Eagle lead bumped up to 15 points at 50-35 with Eastern Michigan maintaining a double-digit lead at 54-43 heading into the second-to-last media timeout with 6:55 left on the clock.

Out of the timeout senior Sam LaDuke (Ludington, Mich./Ludington HS) stepped up to drill a three-pointer - his third of the game - to bring Calvin to within 54-46 with 6:20 remaining.

Senior Emmett Warners (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) followed with a blocked shot that led to a fast-break layup by Katje on a pretty feed from LaDuke to bring the Knights to within six at 54-48.

Calvin kept the game in single digits until the final minute of play. Shymasnki bagged a baseline jumper to close the gap to 58-51 with 1:51 left. After Eastern bumped its lead back to nine, Shymanski fired in a triple from the left wing with 40 seconds remaining before Eastern Michigan made its final surge.

Katje led Calvin in scoring with 12 points off the bench to go with eight rebounds and a pair of steals.

Shymanski had 11 points while Warners and LaDuke had nine points apiece. Warners had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Conner Kok (Dorr, Mich./South Christian HS) chipped in with six points on a pair of three-point shots.

Ty Groce led Eastern Michigan in scoring with 19 points.

Eastern Michigan held a slim 38-37 rebounding advantage against the Knights.

Calvin will now prepare for a two-game homestand next week at Van Noord Arena when it hosts Alma January 19 and Olivet January 20 with both games set to begin at 7:30 p.m.