The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams were on the road this weekend for two games apiece. The roadtrip would start with a Midwest Christian College Conference and NCCAA Central Region matchup against Central Christian College of the Bible on Friday evening. The women battled the Saints first and would fall 57-33.

On Saturday afternoon, the Thunder would take on Central Region rival, the Kansas Christian College Falcons. The Thunder would be behind by four after the first quarter, but a 24-12 advantage in the second quarter would put the Thunder up 34-26 at the break. A near even final two quarters between the Thunder and Falcons would find the Thunder up 63-53 at the final buzzer. The Thunder would shoot 40.3% from the field, 17.6% from the three-point line, and 58.8% from the free throw line. The Thunder had four score in double-figures led by freshman, Macayla Hines who had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman, Elayna Wegner had a near double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds, while newcomers Chantyl Perry and Nekayla Williams chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. After going 1-1 on the weekend, the Thunder are now 4-9 overall, 1-2 in the MCCC, and 2-1 in Central Region play.

The women will play again on Friday, January 17th against the #5 ranked Ozark Christian College Ambassadors at 5:30 PM in Joplin, Missouri.

The #8 ranked men's basketball team would also take on the Saints of Central Christian College of the Bible on Friday night. The Thunder dominated in the first half putting up 49 points, while holding a 23-point lead. It was much of the same in the second half as the Thunder closed out the Saints to win by a final score of 96-64. The Thunder would 52.1% from the field, 44.0% from the three-point line, and 64.3% from the free throw line. Four Thunder players would score at least 13 points, while six would score at least seven points. Junior, Xavier Lucas would pace the Thunder with 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field, to go along with eight rebounds. Fellow junior, Landon Gray would hit five threes to score 15 points, while Micah Lovett and Davis Rokey would chip in with 13 points apiece.

On Saturday, the Thunder would also be in Overland Park, Kansas to take on the Kansas Christian College Falcons. The Thunder would start the game on a 9-0 run and never trail in the game. The Thunder would take a 43-24 lead into the half. The Falcons would only get it as close as 16 in the second half with 3:57 left, but the Thunder would be too much and close out the game with the victory 82-60. The Thunder would hold the Falcons to 37.5% shooting from the field and forced 20 turnovers. Junior, Jaxon Hurla would have 17 points, four rebounds, and three steals, while senior, Cody Mericle had 14 points on 6-8 shooting from the field. Lucas would record a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. With the two wins, the Thunder move to 7-8 on the year, 3-0 in the MCCC, and 2-0 in Central Region play.

The men will play on Tuesday, January 14th against the #5 ranked Spurgeon College Knights at 6:00 PM in Kansas City, MO.

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The Thunder men's basketball team opened 2025 with a home game against the Welch College Flames on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder would lead for the majority of the game and would be up by as much as 13 in the second half, only to falter in the second half and overtime to drop their first game of the new year, 113-106. It would be a shootout to start the game as it was a 21-18 Thunder advantage with 12:57 left in the half. The Thunder would then use an 8-0 run to push their lead to 11 about half way through the first half. After 20 minutes, the Thunder would lead 44-37. In the second half, the Thunder would find themselves up double-digits six different times and being up 10 with 7:54 to play. The Flames would take their first lead since the 15:48 mark in the first half with 1:30 to play in regulation. The Thunder would tie it up at 95 with 13 seconds remaining and a miss on the other end would force overtime. The Thunder would lead by one early in the overtime period and tie it at 102 with 2:29 left, but the Flames put the Thunder away with timely baskets and free throws to secure the victory. With the loss, the Thunder fall to 5-8 overall.

The Thunder would shoot 48.1% from the field, 25.8% from the three-point line, and 64.7% from the free throw line. The Thunder were led by sophomore, Davis Rokey who recorded another double-double with 35 points and 16 rebounds on 13-18 shooting from the field. Senior, Cody Mericle would have a career high 21 points on 9-12 shooting from the field and 3-5 from the three-point line, to go along with six rebounds. Fellow senior, Micah Lovett would chip in with 15 points, six assists to zero turnovers, four rebounds, and three steals, while junior, Xavier Lucas would have 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals for the Thunder.

The Thunder will be on the road for seven straight games starting with a Midwest Christian College Conference matchup with the Central Christian College of the Bible Saints on January 10th at 7:00 PM in Moberly, Missouri.

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After going 2-0 over the past two weeks, the Thunder men's basketball have moved up two spots to #8 in the latest National Christian College Athletic Association Coaches' Poll for DII Men's Basketball. The two wins were over Midwest Christian College Conference opponents, Emmaus and Faith Baptist Bible who were receiving votes to be in the first top-10 poll of the season. With a total of 18 points, the Thunder are above Pensacola Christian and the College of Biblical Studies-Houston to round out the poll. For the full top-10 rankings for DII Men's Basketball, click this link.

The Thunder will be back in action in 2025 when they host the Welch College Flames on January 4th at 2:00 PM at Howie's Activity Center.

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The Thunder men's basketball team played their final game of 2024 on Monday afternoon, an exhibition contest with the Rockhurst University Hawks. The Thunder would jump out to a 9-5 lead just before the under-16 media timeout. With the score 24-19, a 14-0 run by the Hawks would push the lead to 19 with 4:27 left in the half. A late push would put the Thunder down 42-27 at the break. An 8-0 run to start the second half would give the Thunder momentum to keep the game close. The Thunder would cut the lead down to six with 14:25 left to play, but the Hawks would go on another run to bolster their lead to 24 with 9:15 left. The Thunder would battle the final nine minutes and outscore the Hawks 26-18, but it would be too little in the end and the Thunder would fall short, 88-72.

The Thunder were lead by sophomore, Davis Rokey who had 17 points on 7-13 shooting from the field, four rebounds, and two steals. Senior, Cody Mericle had an efficient afternoon going 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from distance to score 12 points, while also collecting three boards. Fellow senior, Micah Lovett would chip in with 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while freshman, Tatum Pierce had nine points. The Thunder would shoot 39.1% from the field, 27.3% from the three-point line, and 80.0% from the free throw line.

The Thunder finish 2024 with a record of 5-7 and a 2-0 mark in Midwest Christian College Conference play. The Thunder will be back in action on January 4th when they host the Welch College Flames at Howie's Activity Center at 2:00 PM.

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The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams both opened Midwest Christian College Conference play over the weekend in Manhattan, Kansas. The Thunder would host the both Iowa teams in the Emmaus University Eagles and the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles. The women would open conference play with the Eagles from Emmaus University on Friday evening. The Thunder would be up 32-15 at the half and would out score the Eagles in every quarter to win their first MCCC game, 60-40. The Thunder would shoot 42.4% from the field, 29.2% from the three-point line, and 20.0% from the free throw line. Four out of the seven players for the Thunder would score in double-figures, led by junior, Nekayla Williams who had 14 points on 7-15 shooting from the field, to go along with four rebounds and five blocks. Freshman, Macayla Hines would collect a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with six assists and three steals in all 40 minutes.

On Saturday, the Thunder would host #4 ranked team in the country, the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles. The Thunder would force 23 turnovers, but 24 turnovers of their own and allowing 30 second chance points would allow for the Eagles to pull away in the end, 73-51. The Thunder would lead 18-14 after the first quarter, but a 28-9 second quarter by the Eagles would find the Thunder behind by 15 at the half. A strong third quarter for the Thunder would cut the deficit to 12 going into the final frame. The Eagles would outscore the Thunder by 10 in the fourth quarter to finish off the game. Williams would lead the Thunder again will 15 points and four rebounds, while Hines had 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Senior, Karlee Wahlmeier and freshman, Elayna Wegner would both chip in with eight points a piece. The Thunder would shoot 35.8% from the field, 25.0% from the three-point line, and 57.1% from the free throw line. After going 1-1 in conference play this weekend, the Thunder are now 3-6 overall and 1-1 in MCCC play.

The women will play their final game of the semester on the road against the Ecclesia College Royals on December 13th at 5:00 PM in Springdale, Arkansas.

The #10 ranked men would also open conference play with the Eagles from Emmaus University on Friday evening. The Thunder would lead by as much as 17 in the first half, but would take a 52-39 lead into halftime. The Eagles would only get as close as 10 in the second, while the Thunder would be up as much as 19 with 2:58 left in the game. The Thunder would finish off the Eagles and win by a score of 90-77. The Thunder would shoot 53.7% from the field, 38.5% from the three-point line, and 56.5% from the free throw line. Offensively, sophomore, Davis Rokey would pace the Thunder with 30 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Senior, Cody Mericle and redshirt-sophomore, Jordan Carter would each have 10 points, while junior, Fred Criqui would have an efficient night going 4-5 from the field for nine points to go with four rebounds. 

On Saturday, the #10 Thunder would take on the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles, who were receiving votes to be in the most recent NCCAA Coaches' Top-10 Poll. The Thunder would find themselves up 21-9 halfway through the first half before the Eagles used a 9-0 run to cut the lead back to three. A 24-12 advantage to finish the half would put the Thunder up 45-30 at the break. The Thunder would control most of the second half bolstering the lead to as much as 26 with 2:34 left and finishing off the Eagles, 90-69. Junior, Landon Gray would lead the way for the Thunder with 23 points on 8-12 shooting from the field with four threes. Senior, Micah Lovett would have 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists, four steals, and two blocks to stuff the stat sheet, while Rokey would finish with 13 points and six boards. With a 2-0 MCCC opening weekend, the Thunder are now 5-7 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.

The men will play their last game of the semester and final exhibition of the season on the road against NCAA Division II, the Rockhurst University Hawks, on December 16th at 12:00 PM in Kansas City, Missouri.

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After a 3-7 start to the season and a 3-0 mark against NCCAA opponents, the Thunder men's basketball team is ranked #10 this week in the first National Christian College Athletic Association Coaches' Poll of the season for DII Men's Basketball. With a total of 5 points, the Thunder edge out Randall University, Faith Baptist Bible, and Kuyper who all received votes to be in the poll. For the full top-10 rankings for DII Men's Basketball, click this link.

The Thunder will start Midwest Christian College Conference play this weekend as they will host the Emmaus University Eagles on Friday, December 6th at 7:00 PM and the RV Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles on Saturday, December 7th at 4:00 PM at Howie's Activity Center.

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The Thunder men's basketball team traveled to Hays, Kansas to take on the Fort Hays State University Tigers in an exhibition on Saturday afternoon. The Thunder would find themselves down by as much as 11 halfway through the first half, before cutting it back to five three different times before the half. After 20 minutes, the Thunder would be down 46-35. The Thunder would cut it to 10 with 18:06 left, before an 8-0 run by the Tigers would push the lead to 18. At the 10:35 mark, the Thunder would get it down to a 65-48 Tiger advantage, but the Tigers would be too much and the Thunder would fall 95-62.

Sophomore, Davis Rokey would pace the Thunder with 19 points on 6-13 shooting, while going 6-6 from the free throw line. Senior, Micah Lovett would chip in with 11 points and four assists, while junior, Xavier Lucas would have a near double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Thunder would shoot 33.9% from the field, 27.3% from the three-point line, and 76.2% from the free throw line.

The Thunder will start Midwest Christian College Conference play next week when they host the Emmaus University Eagles on Friday, December 6th at 7:00 PM.

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The Thunder men's basketball team played their first exhibition of the season against NCAA Division II, the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats on Tuesday night in Bolivar, Missouri. The Thunder kept up with the Bearcats for 29 minutes before being outpaced the final 11 minutes to drop the exhibition contest 83-51. Down 34-24 at the half, the Thunder started the second half with with a 5-2 stanza headed into the under-16 media timeout. The Thunder would find themselves down only nine with 11:20 left in the game. A 34-11 run by the Bearcats to end the game would be enough to put the Thunder away.

The Thunder shot 38.5% from the field, 26.1% from the three-point line, and 41.7% from the free throw line. The Thunder were lead by junior, Jaxon Hurla who had 11 points on 4-8 shooting from the field, to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Sophomore, Davis Rokey would have eights points and seven rebounds, while Micah Lovett, Xavier Lucas, and Cody Mericle would all have seven points apiece.

The Thunder will have another exhibition game after Thanksgiving when they travel to play the Fort Hays State University Tigers on Saturday, November 30th at 2:00 PM.

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The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams both traveled to Ankeny, Iowa this weekend to compete in the Faith Classic against the Trinity Bible College Lions and the Kuyper College Cougars. The women would open with the Lions on Friday afternoon earning their second win of the season with a 57-50 final. The Thunder were led by the hot hand of freshman, Elayna Wegner who scored 20 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 4-8 from the three-point line. She would also have nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Junior, Nekayla Williams would have 18 points, nine rebound, and three steals, while freshman, Ca'Mya Burns would chip in with seven points. The Thunder would shoot 35.9% from the field, 35.0% from the three-point line, and 33.3% from the free throw line as a team.

On Saturday morning, the women would face the Kuyper College Cougars to finish off their games at the Faith Classic. After a close first quarter, the Thunder would be outscored by 22 in the second, were unable to comeback, and would fall to the Cougars by a score of 69-35. The Thunder would shoot 24.1% from the field, 11.1% from the three-point line, and 62.5% from the free throw line. Freshman, Macayla Hines would have 12 points and six rebounds for the Thunder, while freshman counterpart, Wegner would have seven points and seven rebounds. After a 1-1 weekend, the Thunder are now 2-5 overall.

The women will be back in action on Tuesday, December 3rd where they will host the Union Adventist University Warriors at 6:00 PM at Howie's Activity Center.

The men would also open with the Trinity Bible College Lions on Friday afternoon, where the Thunder would be behind at the half, but would outscore the Lions 52-28 in the second half to earn an 85-66 victory. The Thunder were lead by sophomore, Davis Rokey who had a double-double with 22 points and 19 rebounds in 21 minutes. Junior, Jaxon Hurla had 14 points on four made threes to go along with four assists, while senior, Cody Mericle would have 12 points and five rebounds on 4-7 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the three-point line. Junior, Xavier Lucas had a near double-double with nine points and 13 boards for the Thunder. The Thunder would shoot 44.3% from the field, 37.9% from the three-point line, and 85.7% from the free throw line.

On Saturday morning, the men would play the Kuyper College Cougars, who also came off a win on Friday. A close game throughout between the two would see multiple ties and lead changes until the Thunder would pair hot shooting from beyond the arch with defensive stops to prevail 90-78. The Thunder would shoot 48.3% from the field, 42.9% from the three-point line, ad 76.9% from the free throw line. Another double-double by Rokey, who had 31 points and 17 boards, would propel the Thunder's offensive attack. Junior, Landon Gray would score 21 points off the bench on six made threes to go with four assists. Hurla would have a double-double of his own with 15 points and 10 assists to zero turnovers with five boards to go along with that. Senior, Micah Lovett would chip in with 10 points, two rebounds, three assists, and two steals for the Thunder. With the two wins on the weekend, the Thunder are now 3-7 on the season.

The men will be back on the court on Tuesday, November 26th when they hit the road to take on NCAA Division II opponent, the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats, in an exhibition game at 7:00 PM in Bolivar, Missouri.

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The Thunder men's basketball team welcomed the Doane University Tigers to Manhattan on Tuesday night for a non-conference match-up. The Thunder and Tigers met on Halloween night in Crete to open the season where the Tigers were victorious. On Tuesday, the Thunder were doomed by a flat start and would fall to the Tigers for the second time this season by a score of 83-60. A 16-1 start for the Tigers would put the Thunder in a hole early. The Thunder would get it as close as nine with 10:50 left in the half. An 18-0 run by the Tigers would balloon the lead to 27 with 6:50 left in the half before a halftime score would be 54-28. The second half would be won by the Thunder 32-29, but it would not be enough to overcome the 26-point first half deficit. The Thunder would shoot 34.5% from the field, 20.0% from the three-point line, and 82.4% from the free throw line. Juniors, Jaxon Hurla and Landon Gray would pace the Thunder with 10 points a piece.

The Thunder will head to Ankeny, Iowa to compete in the Faith Classic on Friday, November 22nd and Saturday, November 23rd. They will play the Trinity Bible College Lions on Friday at 3:00 PM and the Kuyper College Cougars on Saturday at 11:30 AM.

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