Thunder Seniors
Mens Basketball
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Thunder Head to Fourth Consecutive National Tournament

Bracket
Manhattan, Kan.

After posting a 23-9 season record - including a perfect 12-0 in conference play - the Men's Basketball team is heading to the NCCAA DII National Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. MCC qualifies for the tournament as an at-large selection earning the #2 seed following a run at the Southwest Region Tournament that saw the Thunder finish second. The team will matchup with the defending national champions, #7 seed Campbellsville University Harrodsburg, on Wednesday March 8, 2023 at 6:00 pm in Joplin, Mo. The Pioneers were responsible for ending the Thunder run in the Final Four a season ago. Should MCC win on Wednesday they would advance to the Final Four where they would see the winner of the #3 seed Crown Polars and the #6 seed Ozark Christian College Ambassadors at 4:00 pm. 

"We are blessed to have the chance to continue our season," commented Head Coach Jordan Strom. "We felt as though we had earned an opportunity to keep playing with the season that we had and we're grateful that the selection committee saw things the same way that we did." 

Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball is making its 19th appearance all time in the NCCAA National Tournament - including the fourth straight trip to the tournament. The Thunder won their 21st regular season conference title and 15th conference tournament title in 2022-2023 while the program won its 900th game all time this season in a thrilling 71-69 victory at Faith Baptist Bible College on January 21st. This team saw four members reach the 1,000 career point mark this season when Jordan White, Ferdinand Handy, Dyelan Reed and Taymont Lindsey all eclipsed the milestone in different games. White is an NCCAA DII Maravich Award finalist and was named MVP of the Midwest Christian College Conference and first team all-region, Handy was a first team all-conference performer and named to the second team all-region, Lindsey was named honorable mention in both the conference and the region while Reed was selected as a second team all-conference member. 

"It's a blessing to be able to go to the national tournament all four years we've been here," stated senior Taymont Lindsey. "No other senior group can say that they have done that and we're excited to get back on the floor and do our best to make it a memorable finish." 

MCC will leave tonight at 6:00 pm and there will be a sendoff for the team in the parking lot behind Howie's Activity Center at 5:50 pm. All games will be streamed on the NCCAA Network ($) and you can find the tournament page here

NCCAA DII National Tournament Seeds: 

1. Kansas Christian College (Overland Park, KS)
2. Manhattan Christian College (Manhattan, KS)
3. Crown College (St.Bonifacous, MN)
4. Champion Christian College (Hot Springs, AR)
5. Great Lakes Christian College (Lansing, MI) 
6. Ozark Christian College (Joplin, MO)
7. Campbellsville University Harrodsburg (Harrodsburg, KY)
8. Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa Falls, GA)

NCCAA Network Live Stream Link

NCCAA Live Stats Link

Follow the team on social media at MCC Athletics on Facebook, @mccmbb on Twitter and @mccmb_ on Instagram