GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's basketball team took down Adrian 59-57 in its MIAA opener thanks to a layup by senior Thad Shymanksi with 1.7 seconds remaining Tuesday night at Van Noord Arena.

Tuesday's game marked the MIAA opener for both teams.

Both teams were slow to score in the early minutes and it became a close contest right away. Junior Nate Minderhoud (Grand Rapids, MI / Covenant Christian) tied the game at 8-8 with a nice put-back five minutes into the game. Adrian began connecting from the three-point line and jumped out to an 18-14 lead with eleven minutes left in the half. The Knights picked it up on the offensive end with Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, IL / Huntley) making a tough layup through contact go give them a 28-22 advantage.

Calvin went on a 16-4 run that was capped off with a layup by junior Jordan Katje (Kalamazoo, MI / Kalamazoo Christian). The Knights finished off a great last five minutes of the 1st half as they scored on their final possession to take a 36-27 lead into the break.

Sophomore Brandon Paul (Sault Ste Marie, MI / Sault Ste Marie) had 11 points and 8 rebounds in the first half while teammate Emmett Warners (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) had 9 points and 7 rebounds. The Knights shot 44.1% from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 26-17 in the first half.

The Bulldogs came out of halftime hot as they raddled off a 12-2 run to take a 39-30 lead. Calvin answered with a 12-1 run of its own that was capped by a three-pointer by senior Sam LaDuke (Ludington, MI / Ludington HS). This gave the Knights a 50-40 lead with 11:38 left in the game.

Adrian made it a close game with 7:50 left as it went on a 10-3 run to only trail to the Knights by three. In the final seven minutes both teams struggled to score points and it was a grind to the end. Calvin held a 57-54 lead until Adrian hit a three-pointer with 29 seconds left in the game to tie it up at 57-57. The Knights had one last possession and with time running out, senior Thad Shymaski (Ada, MI / Grand Rapids Christian), drove the lane and put the Bulldogs away with a teardrop layup to give the Knights the lead with 1.7 seconds remaining. Adrian attempted a long pass and three-point shot at the horn, but the shot sailed side, allowing the Knights to hold on for the win.

The Knights were led in scoring by Emmett Warners, who almost had a triple double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Brandon Paul finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds while teammate Thad Shymanski finished with 11 points as well. Kaatje corralled 10 rebounds including five on the offensive glass. LaDuke contributed five points and five boards off the bench including a key offensive board and layup with 3:19 remaining that gave the Knights a 57-54 lead. Calvin shot 37.5% from the field and 20% from three-point land. They also rebounded Adrian 47-33 including 18-9 on the offensive glass.

NEXT UP: "We will take the win, but we did not come out with the proper energy we needed to win tonight," said Calvin men's basketball coach Bill Sall. "We made just enough plays to sneak one out. I though Kaatje and LaDuke made a couple of key plays down the stretch that really saved us. I wish we had a little more time to learn from this and go through some practices but we have another tough one coming up on Thursday and then another one on Saturday so it's back at it."

UP NEXT: Calvin will travel to Albion on Thursday February 11 with a 7:30 tipoff at Kresge Gymnasium.