The Thunder men's basketball team has dropped one spot and is ranked #5 in the latest National Christian College Athletic Association Coaches Poll for DII Men's Basketball after going 3-2 over the past two weeks. With a total of 34 points, the Thunder sit behind new #1 Great Lakes Christian College, Crown College, Spurgeon College, and Champion Christian College. The Thunder are now one of two teams from the Midwest Christian College Conference who are ranked as Faith Baptist Bible College is right behind the Thunder at #6. The Thunder are also one of two teams ranked in the week two poll from the NCCAA Central Region. For the full top-10 rankings for DII Men's Basketball, click this link.

The Thunder finished their Fall semester schedule yesterday and sit at 9-4 headed into winter break. They will play their next game on Wednesday, December 31st at Doane University at 3:00PM in Crete, Nebraska.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.

Both the Thunder men's and women's basketball teams were back at home on Tuesday, as the Lady Thunder were home yesterday for the first time in over a month, while the men were the in the same situation today. The Lady Thunder would face off with the Hesston College Larks, a team they played on November 17th on the road and would fall by a score of 77-59. Tuesday afternoon would be a different story for the Lady Thunder. While they would fall behind 13-1 about halfway through the first quarter, the Lady Thunder would go on a 35-9 run to end the half with 36-22 lead. The Lady Thunder would lead by as much as 19 in the third quarter and finish off the night with a 71-43 victory to avenge the loss from just under a month ago. Four Lady Thunder player would score in double figures led by redshirt-senior, Nekayla Williams who would have a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman, Mackenzie Lovett would also have a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while point guards, Macayla Hines and Jasmine Holloway would have 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Lady Thunder would shoot 34.8% from the field, 36.8% from the three-point line, and 64.0% from the free throw line. The Lady Thunder have now won four games in a row and sit at 5-8 on the season.

The Lady Thunder will play an exhibition game for their final game of 2025 when they travel to play Metropolitan State University-Denver on Saturday, December 20th at 12:00PM.

The #5 ranked Thunder men's basketball team was also at home on Tuesday evening, but against a different opponent in the Randall University Saints. This was the first home game for the Thunder since November 11th. The Thunder would be in a back-and-forth battle throughout most of the first half as the Saints would force the Thunder to use a timeout with a 17-12 lead. The Thunder would claw back to take the lead 26-25 with 5:15 remaining in the first. After 20 minutes, the Thunder would take a 39-38 lead to the break. Another tight start to the second half would keep things interesting for most of the second 20 minutes. An 11-2 run would give the Thunder a 69-60 lead with just over 5 minutes remaining. The Saints would cut the lead to four twice in the next five minutes, but the Thunder would prevail and sneak out with a 77-72 win. Senior, Xavier Lucas would have 21 points and six rebounds, while sophomore, Tatum Pierce would have 17 points on 10-10 shooting from the free throw line. The Thunder would shoot 38.6% from the field, 30.4% from the three-point line, and 72.7% from the free throw line. With the win, the Thunder set a program record for most wins the the fall semester with nine and improve their record to 9-4.

The Thunder will play again on Wednesday, December 31st against their final NAIA team on the schedule in the Doane University Tigers in Crete, Nebraska.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's and Women's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on the Men's X and Instagram and the Women's X and Instagram.

The #4 ranked Thunder men's basketball team would travel to Moberly, Missouri over the weekend to play in the Central Christian College of the Bible Classic. They would play two non-conference and non-region games. On Friday, the Thunder would face the #10 ranked Southwestern Adventist University Knights out of the Southwest Region. The Thunder and Knights would be in a back and forth game for the majority of the first half before the Thunder would an eight point lead into the break. The Thunder would come out in the second half firing on all cylinders and take a 64-41 lead with 12:26 left in the game. The Knights would not give in as they would would go on a 20-2 run to cut the lead to five with 8:13 remaining. The Thunder would take care of business and close out the Knights, 92-80, to earn a top-10 win. Junior, Hunter Hill would have an efficient shooting going 5-7 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line for 16 points, to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Senior, Xavier Lucas would have 15 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore, Tatum Pierce would have 12 points, seven rebounds, and two steals to pace the Thunder. The Thunder would shoot 54.2% from the field, 38.5% from the three-point line, and 79.3% from the free throw line.

On Saturday, the Thunder would face NAIA and American Midwest Conference opponent, Hannibal-LaGrange University. This is the fifth NAIA opponent the Thunder have faced this season and currently sit at 2-2. The Thunder would come out hot taking an early 10-2 lead on the Trojans. Multiple ties and lead changes in the first half made for an entertaining 20 minutes that finished with the Thunder leading 38-34. The Thunder would increase their lead to eight again early in the half, but a cold shooting slump would see the Trojans take an eight point lead with 7:16 left in the game. The Thunder would respond and take a 56-55 lead on a Hill offensive rebound and put back with 3:51. Multiple lead changes in the final four minutes would end in favor of the Trojans who would hit more tough shots down the stretch to win 70-64. Lucas would have 18 points and eight rebounds, while Hill would have 12 points. Jaxon Hurla and Colby Frehe would chip in with nine and seven points, respectively. The Thunder would shoot 39.0% from the field, 31.8% from the three-point line, and 78.6% from the free throw line. By going 1-1 this weekend, the Thunder are now 8-4 overall.

The Thunder will play their first home game in over a month on Tuesday, December 16th against Randall University at 6:00PM at the Howie's Activity Center.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.

The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to open National Christian College Athletic Association Central Region play against Union Adventist University on Tuesday evening. The women's team would tip-off first and fall behind 9-8 after the first quarter. The Warriors would expand their lead to five before the Lady Thunder would have a strong finish to the second quarter and take a 24-22 lead into the break. The Lady Thunder would increase their lead by four after three quarters and use a 24-point fourth to close out the Warriors to earn a 63-50 victory. Freshman, Tahlia Morris would score 20 points to lead the Thunder, while fellow freshman, Mackenzie Lovett would have another double-double, her third in a row, with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Junior, Elayna Spilker would score in double figures as well with 11 points. The Lady Thunder would shoot 35.3% from the field, 28.1% from the three-point line, and 46.2% from the free throw line. The Lady Thunder have now won two in a row and are 3-8 overall and 1-0 in the Central Region.

The Lady Thunder will play their next game and first home game since November 11th on Monday, December 15th against Grace Christian University at 3:00PM in the Howie's Activity Center.

The #4 ranked men's basketball team would follow the women's game looking to bounce back from a loss over the weekend. The Thunder would come out cold shooting from the field, but would still lead 11-6 early to force a Warrior timeout. As shooting woes continued, the Thunder would defend at a high-level in the half court and expand their lead to double digits with just over five minutes remaining in the half. The Warriors would battle back and go on a 7-2 run to end the half making it 35-28 after 20 minutes. The Thunder would go on a 5-0 to start the second half, but the Warriors would not go away. A single-digit to 10-point game for the majority of the first part of the second half, the Thunder would ballon their lead to 25 with just under eight minutes to play and that would be enough to close out the Warriors, 88-71, to earn their first region win of the season. Junior, Hunter Hill would lead all Thunder scorers with 17 points on 8-10 shooting from the field, while senior, Jaxon Hurla would chip in with 16 points and four assists. Fellow senior, Fred Criqui would have 11 points and seven rebounds and four other Thunder players would score at least eight points. The Thunder would shoot 42.5% from the field, 29.6% from the three-point line, and 81.8% from the free throw line and have 24 assists on 31 made baskets. The Thunder now sit at 7-3 overall and 1-0 in the Central Region.

The Thunder will have a neutral site game against #10 ranked Southwestern Adventist University at the CCCB Classic in Moberly, Missouri on Friday, December 12th at 2:00PM.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's and Women's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on the Men's X and Instagram and the Women's X and Instagram.

The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams both opened Midwest Christian College Conference play this weekend in Ankeny, Iowa. The women would start conference play on Friday afternoon against Emmaus University. The Lady Thunder would lead 11-10 after one quarter. A back and forth start to the second quarter would see the score tied four different times, but the Eagles would take a 28-23 advantage into halftime. The Lady Thunder would chip into that lead by winning the third quarter 13-10 to cut the deficit to two heading into the fourth. With 4:15 left in the game, the Lady Thunder would take a 43-42 lead, but a 6-0 run by the Eagles would push the lead to five with under three minutes left. The Lady Thunder would cut the lead to two with 1:01 left, but the Eagles would make just enough free throws to close out the game by a final score of 55-51. Freshman, Mackenzie Lovett would have a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while junior, Elayna Spliker, who played in her first game of the season, had 12 points. Sophomore, Macayla Hines would have a near double-double for the Lady Thunder with nine points and nine boards. The Lady Thunder would shoot 27.7% from the field, 13.0% from the three-point line, and 80.0% from the free throw line.

On Saturday, the Thunder would face the defending MCCC Tournament Champions in the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles. In another back and forth game, the Lady Thunder would take a 25-24 lead into halftime. The Faith Eagles would outscore the Lady Thunder 19-13 in the third to take a five point lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Thunder would play great defense and hold the Faith Eagles to eight points in the fourth to close out the game and win their first conference game of the season, 54-51. Four Lady Thunder players would score in double figures led by a trio of 11 points scorers of Spliker, Hines, and Jasmine Hollloway. Hines would also have four rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Holloway had seven rebounds to go with her 11 points. Lovett would have another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Thunder would shoot 32.8% from the field, 26.9% from the three-point line, and 42.9% from the free throw line. As the Lady Thunder split this weekend, they move to 1-1 in MCCC play and 2-8 overall.

The Lady Thunder will open NCCAA Central Region play on Tuesday, December 9th when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to play Union Adventist University at 4:00PM.

The #4 ranked Thunder men's basketball team would also play Emmaus University on Friday to open conference play. The Thunder had a slow start falling behind 7-6 two minutes into the game and then be in a back and forth game until the 13:17 mark in the first half. The Thunder would then go on a 10-0 run over roughly the next six minutes to take an 11-point lead. The lead would expand to as much as 16 in the first half and the Thunder would take a 46-31 lead into the half. The Eagles would battle back and take advantage of Thunder turnovers and missed layups to cut the lead to three with 10:26 left in the game. The Thunder would regroup and dominate the game on the defensive end and close out the gam with a 30-13 run to win their first MCCC game, 84-64. Senior, Jaxon Hurla would hit six threes and score 24 points to lead the Thunder, while freshman, Trayden Chambers would have 15 points on 6-7 shooting and four rebounds in 14 minutes. Tatum Pierce and Jordan Carter would also score in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Pierce would also have six rebounds and three steal, while Carter would have five rebounds and six assists. The Thunder would shoot 45.2% from the field, 42.9% from the three-point line, and 61.3% from the free throw line.

On Saturday, the Thunder would have their first true road game of the season with the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles, who is receiving vote in this weeks NCCAA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Thunder would score the first basket of the game, but the Faith Eagles would rattle off eight straight to force a timeout. The Thunder would have to battle from behind the whole first half and would get as close as two before the Eagles would hit a three to close out the half to lead 48-43 after 20 minutes. The threes would continue to rain in for the Eagles as they would lead by as much as 14 in the second half. The Thunder would claw its way back into the game tying it at 83 with 3:26 left. A timely stop with 20 seconds would give the Thunder the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Thunder could not convert and a last second heave was no good and the Thunder would fall, 93-91. Eight players would have at least eight points for the Thunder led by junior, Hunter Hill who would have a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder could not overcome 19 threes from the Eagles and 20 turnovers, but would still shoot 52.5% from the field, 37.5% from the three-point line, and 77.8% from the free throw line. In splitting two games this weekend, the Thunder are 1-1 in the MCCC and 6-3 overall.

The Thunder will also open NCCAA Central Region play on Tuesday, December 9th when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to play Union Adventist University at 6:00PM.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's and Women's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on the Men's X and Instagram and the Women's X and Instagram.

After a nearly two weeks without games, the Thunder women's basketball team is ready to begin Midwest Christian College Conference play over the weekend. They will travel to Ankeny, Iowa to play the Emmaus University Eagles on a neutral court on Friday at 1:00PM and the host, Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles on Saturday at 2:00PM. The Lady Thunder are coming off their first win of the season on November 22nd against Providence University-College and are looking to continue to build momentum into conference play. The Faith Eagles were MCCC Tournament Champions last season and are looking to repeat. The Lady Thunder finished 6-6 in the MCCC last season and won the fifth place game over the Emmaus Eagles. A 10-game conference slate is scheduled this season on the women's side due to Barclay College not having a team.

Head coach Dalton Miller is ready for conference play this weekend, "We are excited to start conference play. A lot of basketball to be played and this group is still taking it one day at a time figuring things out together. Our goal is to be playing our best basketball come February and we get a chance to continue working towards that this weekend."

After a trio of exhibition games, the Thunder men's basketball team is eager to begin MCCC play. Just like the women's team, the Thunder will be in Iowa to play Emmaus and Faith Baptist Bible. The Emmaus game will be at 3:00PM and the Faith game will be at 4:00PM. The Thunder are looking to repeat as MCCC Tournament Champions and finished as co-regular season champions last season at 11-1. A 12-game conference slate is schedule this season for the Thunder.

Head coach Jordan Strom had this to say about starting conference play, "We are excited to begin conference play this weekend. There are so many talented players and coaches in our league that each night will present a new challenge. It will be fun to see our guys compete."

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's and Women's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on the Men's X and Instagram and the Women's X and Instagram.

After a 5-2 start to the season, the Thunder men's basketball team is ranked #4 in the first National Christian College Athletic Association Coaches Poll of the season for DII Men's Basketball. With a total of 43 points, the Thunder sit below Spurgeon College, defending National Champion, North Central University, and Great Lakes Christian College. The Thunder are the only team from the Midwest Christian College Conference who is ranked, while Faith Baptist Bible College is receiving votes to be in the top-10. The Thunder are also one of two teams ranked in the week one poll from the NCCAA Central Region. For the full top-10 rankings for DII Men's Basketball, click this link.

The Thunder will play two MCCC game this weekend in Ankeny, Iowa when they face Emmaus University on Friday, December 5th at 3:00PM and Faith Baptist Bible College on Saturday, December 6th at 4:00PM. These games will both be at the Nettleton Center.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.

The Thunder men's basketball team traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to play their first ever NCAA Division I opponent in program history on Tuesday night. This is also the first time Manhattan Christian College has ever competed on the Division I stage in any sport. The Thunder would take a one point lead two separate times in the first three minutes of the game. After the first media timeout, the Thunder would trail 16-9. The Golden Hurricane would go on 27-6 run through the next two medias to extend their lead. At the half, the Thunder would trail 61-22. To start the second half, the Thunder and Golden Hurricane would exchange baskets early on. The Thunder would battle in the second half and only be outscored 50-38 in the second 20 minutes. In the Thunder's first ever game against a Division I team, they would give a valiant effort and fall to the Golden Hurricane, 111-60. Senior, Jaxon Hurla would lead the Thunder with 12 points on 5-10 shooting from the field, while Bartlesville, Oklahoma native, Jordan Carter would chip in with 10 points. Senior, Fred Criqui would have a balanced game with five points, three rebounds, and two blocks. The Thunder would shoot 33.8% from the field, 23.7% from the three-point line, and 50.0% from the free throw line.

The Thunder will open their Midwest Christian College Conference slate on Friday, December 5th when they travel to Ankeny, Iowa to play Emmaus University at Faith Baptist Bible College at 3:00PM.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.

The Thunder men's basketball team played their third exhibition against an NCAA Division II opponent on Saturday afternoon when they traveled to Hays, Kansas to play Fort Hays State University. The Thunder would face one of the best defensive teams at the Division II level and the Tigers would be just that on Saturday. The Thunder would fall behind 12-1 to start the game before hitting their first field goal to cut the lead to eight. The closest the Thunder would get back to the Tigers was 37-17 with 6:16 left in the half. The Tigers would take a 52-25 lead into the half. Another slow start to the second half would put the Thunder away and the Tigers would cruise to a 92-44 win. Freshman, Trayden Chambers would lead the Thunder with 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, while redshirt-sophomore, Peyton Torres would go 3-4 from the three-point line for nine points. The Thunder would shoot 28.0% from the field, 30.0% from the three-point line, and 83.3% from the free throw line.

The Thunder will play their final exhibition game of the season against NCAA Division I, the University of Tulsa. This is the first time the Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball program has played a Division I opponent. This game will be on Tuesday, December 2nd at 7:00PM in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.

The Thunder men's basketball team would play their second exhibition game and final game before Thanksgiving on the road against Newman University. The Thunder would get off to a great start and take a 3-0 and 6-2 lead in the early going. Sophomore, Tatum Pierce would score the Thunder's first 11 points before redshirt-sophomore, Peyton Torres would knock in a three of his own. The Thunder would claim a 16-15 lead with 11:08 left in the first half to force a Jets timeout. The Jets would not look back and go on a 24-8 run to end the half and take a 15-point lead to the break. The Thunder would cut the lead down to 14 with 14:21 left in the game, but a mixture of turnovers and lack of offense would prove enough for the Jets to pull away, 85-55. Torres would finish the game with 10 points and three steals, while junior, Hunter Hill would have eight points and four rebounds. The Thunder would shoot 34.5% from the field, 39.3% from the three-point line, and 57.1% from the free throw line.

The Thunder will play another exhibition on Saturday, November 29th against Fort Hays State at 2:00PM in Hays, Kansas.

How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's Basketball, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on X and Instagram.