The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams both traveled to Ankeny, Iowa to compete in the Faith Classic at Faith Baptist Bible College. Each team would play three games. The women would open up with Trinity Bible College on Thursday morning. The Lady Thunder would take a 19-16 lead after the first quarter forcing eight Lion turnovers and going 6-6 from the free throw line. Trinity Bible would outscore the Lady Thunder by six in the second quarter to take a 34-31 lead into the half. The Lions would have a big third quarter to extend their lead by 14 headed into the fourth. The Lady Thunder would be behind as much as 19 in the fourth, and would battle back to cut the Lion lead to four with 26 seconds left, but end up falling, 73-67. Freshman, Jasmine Holloway would lead the Lady Thunder with 19 points on 5-10 shooting from the three-point line, while Nekayla Williams and Mackenzie Lovett would both have double-doubles. The Lady Thunder would shoot 33.3% from the field, 26.5% from the three-point line, and 63.6% from the free throw line. On Friday morning, the Lady Thunder would play Southwestern Community College (IA). Another strong start to the game for the Lady Thunder would put them ahead 17-14 after 10 minutes. Low scoring second and third quarters would give the Spartans a 30-26 lead after three quarters. A tough shooting day for the Lady Thunder would allow the Spartans to get the win, 45-37. Lovett and Elayna Wegner would each have eight points a piece. The Lady Thunder would shoot 22.6% from the field, 19.4% from the three-point line, and 50.0% from the free throw line. On Saturday, the Lady Thunder would compete against Providence University-College in their final game of the Faith Classic. The Lady Thunder had a back-and-forth battle with the Pilots as the Thunder would take a six point lead to the half. After three quarters, the Pilots cut the Lady Thunder lead to one. The Lady Thunder would dominate the fourth quarter outscoring the Pilots by nine to win their first game of the season, 76-66. Freshman, Tahlia Morris would have 17 points on 6-12 shooting from the field and 3-4 from three, to go along with five rebounds. Holloway and Cortnea Wagner would each chip in with 14 points each. Sophomore, Macayla Hines would have a near triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. The Lady Thunder would shoot 36.6% from the field, 40.0% from the three-point line, and 63.2% from the free throw line. After a 1-2 weekend for the Lady Thunder, their record is now 1-7.

The Lady Thunder will have their Midwest Christian College Conference opener on Friday, December 5th when they play Emmaus University at 1:00PM back at Faith Baptist Bible College.

The Thunder men's basketball team was also at the Faith Classic this weekend and like the women, they would play Trinity Bible College on Thursday. The Thunder would be a back-and-forth game, but would lead at halftime 37-31. It would be much of the same in the second half as the Thunder lead for most of the half until a three by the Lions gave them a 64-63 lead with 5:47 left in the game. The Thunder would end the game on a 14-7 run to close out the Lions, 77-71. The Thunder would have four player score in double figures led by freshman, Colby Frehe would have 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore, Tatum Pierce would record a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jaxon Hurla and Hunter Hill would each have 13 points. The Thunder would shoot 41.4% from the field, 38.9% from the three-point line, and 48.0% from the free throw line. On Friday, the Thunder would play Kuyper College. The Thunder would take control of this game from the start and would win, 90-79. Hill would have a dominant 28 point and eight rebound performance on 10-17 shooting from the field. Hurla would have 17 points while knocking down five three-pointers. The Thunder would have a great shooting day by shooting 49.2% from the field, 54.2% from the three-point line, and 72.2% from the free throw line. On Saturday, the Thunder would play their final game of the Faith Classic against Providence University-College, a first in program history. In this game, every player that would get in the game would score. Frehe would have a perfect shooting game going 7-7 from the field to score 16 points and grab nine rebounds. Sophomore, Marcus Bauman would have 11 points, while senior, Fred Criqui would have 10. The Thunder would hold the Pilots to 26.8% shooting from the field and 16.1% from the three-point line, while they would shoot 56.7% from the field, 35.7% from the three-point line, and 57.1% from the free throw line. With the three wins, the Thunder now improve to 5-2 overall.

The Thunder will play their next game on Tuesday, November 25th. This contest will be an exhibition against Newman University at 10:30AM in Wichita, Kansas.

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 men's basketball team played their first exhibition of the season against NCAA Division II, Wayne State College (NE) on the road. The Thunder would score the first basket of the game on a layup by junior, Hunter Hill and then would come down on their second possession and score on a layup by James Braddy to take an early 4-2 lead. The Thunder would battle, but the stingy Wildcat defense would force 21 turnovers resulting in 35 points, which would overpower the Thunder leading to a 95-58 defeat. Senior, Fred Criqui would pace the Thunder with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 5-7 shooting from the field, while freshman, Colby Frehe would score 10 points and grab seven rebounds on 5-8 shooting. Hill would chip in with nine points and redshirt-junior, Jordan Carter would have eight points, five rebounds, and four assists. The Thunder would go on to out-rebound the Wildcats 38-33. The Thunder would shoot 40.7% from the field, 25.0% from the three-point line, and 60.0% from the free throw line.

The Thunder will play three games this weekend at the Faith Classic opening with Trinity Bible College on Thursday, November 20th at 12:15PM at the Nettleton Center in Ankeny, Iowa.

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 hosted Central Christian College (KS) on Tuesday night for their first double-header of the season. The Lady Thunder would play first against the visiting Lady Tigers and the Thunder would have some scoring woes this evening. The Lady Thunder would score single-digits in all four quarters. After 20 minutes of action, the Lady Thunder would find themselves down, 29-16. They would win the third quarter to trail 36-24 going into the fourth. The Lady Thunder would cut the lead to 10, but the Lady Tigers would pull away in the end to win game one of the double-header, 49-32. Sophomore, Macayla Hines would lead the Lady Thunder with 11 points, while redshirt-senior, Nekayla Williams would chip in with seven. The Lady Thunder shot 17.7% from the field, 12.5% from the three-point line, and 50.0% from the free throw line. The Lady Thunder are now 0-4 on the young season.

The Lady Thunder will play their next game on the road at Hesston College on Monday, November 17th at 7:00PM.

In the second game of the double-header, the Thunder and the Tigers were both coming off of losses in their previous games. The Tigers would strike first jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the early going and would extend their lead to as much as 12 late in the first half. The Thunder would answer with an 8-0 run to cut the Tiger lead to four. A 10-0 run to end the half for the Tiger would give them a 41-27 lead after 20 minutes. A back-and-forth start to the second half would keep the Thunder deficit around double digits. A late push would cut the lead down to five, but with under 30 seconds left, the Thunder could not make any magic happen and they would drop their second straight, 74-68. Sophomore, Tatum Pierce would lead a trio of double digit scorers with 15 points and five rebounds, junior, James Braddy would have 12 points, while junior counterpart, Hunter Hill would have 11 points and four rebounds. The Thunder shot 44.1% from the field, 37.5% from the three-point line, and 53.8% from the free throw line. The Thunder drop to 2-2 early in the season.

The Thunder will play an exhibition game at Wayne State College (NE) on Monday, November 17th 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.

The Thunder men's basketball team hosted Missouri Valley College in their 2025-26 home opener on Saturday afternoon. This would be the first ever meeting between the Thunder and the Vikings. The Thunder would jump out early with a 5-0 lead to start the half and would lead by as much as six in the early going. The Vikings would slowly wear down the Thunder as the Thunder would be outscored 10-4 in the final four minutes of the half. The Thunder would have costly live ball turnovers that led to 13 points for the Vikings in the first half and a 33-26 deficit after 20 minutes. The Vikings would pull ahead and hold a 10-point lead with just over 11 minutes left in the game. An and-1 by sophomore, Tatum Pierce would make the score 52-50 with just under five minutes to play. Missed shots and some turnovers down the stretch would be the difference and the Thunder would drop their home opener, 65-59. Junior, Hunter Hill and Pierce would each have 16 points a piece, while Pierce would also grab eight rebounds. Senior, Fred Criqui would have a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, to go along with two blocks. The Thunder would shoot 30.4% from the field, 18.5% from the three-point line, and 57.1% from the free throw line. With the loss, the Thunder are now 2-1 on the season.

The Thunder will be at home for their next game on Tuesday, November 11th where they will host Central Christian College (KS) at 7:00PM 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 men's basketball team opened their season with two games at the Central Christian College Classic for Christ. On Friday night, the Thunder would battle with Sterling College. This was the third time in three seasons that the Thunder have played the Warriors in the Classic for Christ. In a back and forth battle throughout, the game would be tied at 68 with under 40 seconds remaining. Senior, guard, Jaxon Hurla would drill a three in the corner to break the tie and put the Thunder up 71-68 with 17 seconds remaining. Junior, guard, James Braddy would draw a foul on the rebound on the ensuing possession. He would knock in two free throws to ice the game and secure the victory for the Thunder, 73-68. Hurla would lead the Thunder in scoring with 19 points, while connecting on four three-pointers, to go along with six assists, and three steals. Six Thunder players would score more than eight points on the night. Sophomore, guard, Tatum Pierce would have 14 points and five rebounds, while senior, forward, Fred Criqui would chip in with 10 points and five rebounds. The Thunder would shoot 44.1% from the field, 31.8% from the three-point line, and 82.4% from the free throw line.

On Saturday afternoon, the Thunder would go head-to-head with Hesston College. In a game that was tied seven ties and 12 lead changes, the Thunder would find their way to close out the high scoring affair, 100-97, to get their second win of the season in as many days. Even though the Thunder would give up 20 three to the Larks, the Thunder would dominate in the paint outscoring them, 46-12. Junior, forward, Hunter Hill would record a double-double of 37 points and 11 rebounds on 13 of 17 shooting from the field and 11 of 15 shooting from the free throw line. Four other Thunder player would score in double figures, as Hurla would have 19 and four rebounds and Braddy would have 16 and four assists. Pierce would have a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while redshirt-junior, guard, Jordan Carter would chip in with 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists. The Thunder would shoot an efficient 55.9% from the field, 53.3% from the three-point line, and 70.3% from the free throw line. The Thunder start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2022-23.

The Thunder will play again on Saturday, November 8th in their home opener at 4:00PM against Missouri Valley College.

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 will tip-off their 2025-26 season on Halloween night at the Central Christian College Classic for Christ against Sterling College at 6:00PM in McPherson, Kansas. The Thunder are coming off a NCCAA Division II Final Four appearance and are eager for the opportunity to compete. The Thunder would also win the Midwest Christian College Conference Regular Season and Tournament title in 2024-25, which they have won at least a share of the past six seasons. In 2024-25, the Thunder finished with an overall record of 23-13, 11-1 in the MCCC, and 9-1 against NCCAA Central Region opponents.

The Thunder return 10 players from last season's roster, where nine of the 10 have played in at least 18 games. Led by seniors, Jaxon Hurla, Fred Criqui, and Xavier Lucas, the Thunder look to use their collective college playing experience to lead their team. Hurla, a 5'9 guard from Paxico, Kansas, averaged 10.7 points on 36.4% shooting from the three-point line and 70.3% from the free throw line, to go along with 2.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals to earn Honorable Mention All-MCCC and NCCAA Central Region Second Team All-Region honors. Criqui, a 6'9 forward from St. Marys, Kansas, averaged 5.4 points on 57.1% shooting from the field, to go along with 4.0 rebounds. Lucas, a 6'3 guard from Tulsa, Oklahoma, averaged 10.9 points on 46.9% shooting from the field and 32.3% from the three-point line, to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.7 steals to earn Second Team All-MCCC honors. Junior, Davis Rokey was one of four players to play all 35 games in 2024-25. Rokey averaged 16.7 points on 58.7% shooting from the field and 37.5% from the three-point line, to go along 9.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.1 steals to earn First Team All-American, Central Region MVP, and First Team All-MCCC honors. Redshirt-junior, Jordan Carter would average 14.8 minutes per game, while averaging 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. Sophomore, Tatum Pierce would play in 34 games and average 4.8 points on 52.3% shooting from the field, to go along with 2.6 rebounds. Other returners include, Peyton Torres, Dylan Gansel, Marcus Bauman, and Eddie Lloyd II, who are all sophomores this season.

The remaining 2025-26 roster consists of two transfers and six freshmen. Junior, James Braddy is a 5'9 guard who transferred in from Southwestern Community College (IA). Braddy played in 57 career games for the Spartans averaging 7.6 points on 38.5% shooting from the three-point line and 85.6% from the free throw line, to go along with 2.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals in two seasons. Junior, Hunter Hill is a 6'6 forward who transferred in from Hastings College and was high school teammates with Torres at Eagle Ridge Academy. Hill played in 27 games in 2024-25 and would average 4.6 points on 54.0% shooting from the field, 50.0% from the three-point line, and 76.5% from the free throw line, to go along with 2.1 rebounds. The six freshman include Colby Frehe, Alessandro Rodriguez, Jayden Brown, Kyler Wenger, Trayden Chambers, and Trent Webber.

Head coach Jordan Strom, who enters his seven season as the lead man, is ready for another basketball season in Manhattan, "We are excited for the start of another season! The guys have been working hard and we are looking forward to seeing what they do together." Strom has won 126 games as the head coach of the Thunder and holds a 62-4 MCCC record over six seasons.

Tickets for the 2025-26 season are now available on the SidelineTix app and website. To purchase tickets, fans can visit www.mccthunder.com and click the "Get Tickets" tab.

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.