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.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's and Women's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics, @mccmbb, & @wbasketballmcc

Instagram: @mccathletics, @mccmb_, & @mcc_wb

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.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_

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.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_

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.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_

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.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's and Women's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics, @mccmbb, & @wbasketballmcc

Instagram: @mccathletics, @mccmb_, & @mcc_wb

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.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_

The Thunder men's basketball team would have their second back-to-back of the season this week with games on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Thunder would travel to Kansas City, Missouri to take on the Avila University Eagles. The Thunder would lead most of the first half before a late run by the Eagles who would take a 39-32 lead into the half. That Eagle lead would bolster to 11 early in the second half and they would hold a 10-point lead with just over two minutes to play. The Thunder would cut the lead down to two with 13 seconds left with the ball. An offensive rebound and a foul would put the Thunder at the line with a chance to tie the game with three seconds left. Both free throws would be missed and the Eagles would seal the victory with free throws of their own to win the game 68-64.

The Thunder would shoot 39.3% from the field, 44.0% from the three-point line, and 41.7% from the free throw line. The Thunder would also out rebound the Eagles by seven on the night. Juniors, Jaxon Hurla and Landon Gray would pace the Thunder with four made threes each, with Gray connecting on all four of his attempts. Hurla would also have six assists on the night. Junior, Xavier Lucas would chip in with 10 points, while freshman, Tatum Pierce would have nine points, four rebounds, and three steals.

On Wednesday evening, the Thunder would travel to McPherson, Kansas for the third time this season to play the McPherson College Bulldogs. Both teams came out on fire shooting the ball from deep. A close battle to start, but two separate runs would find the Thunder down 59-49 at the half. The Thunder would cut the lead down to six to open the half, but another Bulldog run would balloon the lead to as much as 25 with just over nine minutes left. The Thunder would battle back to cut the lead down to 12 with two minutes left, but would ultimately fall 101-85.

The Thunder would shoot 46.2% from the field, 40.0% from the three-point line, and a much improved, 78.6% from the free throw line. The Thunder would connect on a season-high 14 threes. The Thunder were led by sophomore, Davis Rokey who had 19 points on 7-9 shooting from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line, to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Senior, Micah Lovett would connect on four threes to finish with 18 points, while Jaxon Hurla and Landon Gray would hit seven combined shot from behind the arch. With the two defeats, the Thunder move to 1-6 on the season.

The Thunder will be back in action at home on Tuesday, November 19th at 6:00 PM when they face the Doane University Tigers for the second time this season.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_

The Thunder men's basketball team played their first back-to-back of the season as they headed to McPherson, Kansas to take on the Central Christian College Tigers. The Thunder would find themselves in a back and forth battle early to be down 40-33 at halftime despite 15 first half turnovers. Ultimately, the Thunder would fall to the Tigers by a final score of 86-63. The Thunder would shot 39.7% from the field, 25.0% from the three-point line, and 61.1% from the free throw line.

The Thunder were lead offensively by senior, Cody Mericle who scored 10 points on 5-7 shooting and junior Landon Gray who hit three three-pointers to total 11 points. Junior, Xavier Lucas would do his part on the glass grabbing 10 rebound on the night to go along with six points. With the loss, the Thunder fall to 1-4 on the season.

The Thunder will be on the road for back-to-back games next week when they travel to Kansas City, Missouri to take on the Avila University Eagles on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:00 PM. Then on Wednesday, November 13th, the Thunder will travel back to McPherson to play the McPherson College Bulldogs at 7:30 PM.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_

The Thunder women's basketball team had their home opener on Friday morning when they welcomed the Southwestern Adventist University Knights to Manhattan. The Thunder would lead the whole game until the Knights would hit a three to tie the game at 52 to force overtime. The Knight would hit two threes to start the extra period and outscore the Thunder 13-5 to pull away in overtime and the Thunder would fall in a thriller, 65-57. The Thunder would shoot 42.6% from the field, 35.3% from the three-point line, and 50.0% from the free throw line. The Thunder were led by junior, Nekayla Williams who had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 9-20 shooting from the field. Redshirt freshman, Madison Ellis would hit five threes to tally 15 points. Freshman, Macayla Hines would stuff the stat sheet with a near triple-double of nine points, eight rebounds, and nine assists to go along with four steals.

The Thunder will be on the road for their next game to play the Union Adventist University Warriors on Thursday, November 14th at 6:00 PM in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Thunder men's basketball team had the afternoon game of the double header with just as much excitement as the women's game. The Thunder would jump out to a 6-0 lead to start the game and would be up by nine with 6:48 left in the first half. The Knights would battle back and it would be a 44-41 game at the half. A back and forth affair in the second half would ensue, but the Thunder would find themselves up six with 1:53 remaining in the second half. A missed front end of an one and one would give the Knights the ball down two with a chance to take the lead. The Knights would tie the game at 89 with nine seconds left where the Thunder a two shots to win, but could not convert. The Thunder would score a layup with two seconds left to secure their first win of the season. The Thunder would shoot 47.1% from the field, 24.1% from the three-point line, and 46.2% from the free throw line. The Thunder would out rebound the Knights by 20 and have 24 assists as a team. Sophomore, Davis Rokey would record another double-double with 32 points and 17 rebounds on 13-21 shooting from the field and also have five assists. Along with Rokey, four other Thunder players would score in double figures. Senior, Micah Lovett would have 19 points and five assists, while junior Xavier Lucas would have his first double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Cody Mericle and Jaxon Hurla would both chip in with 11 points apiece. With the win, the Thunder move to 1-3 on the young season.

The Thunder will be on the road tomorrow to play the Central Christian College Tigers at 6:00 PM in McPherson, Kansas.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's and Women's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics, @mccmbb, & @wbasketballmcc

Instagram: @mccathletics, @mccmb_, & @mcc_wb

The Thunder men's basketball team had their home opener on Tuesday night when they welcomed the #24 ranked team in the NAIA, the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes, to Manhattan. The Thunder would fall behind early, but would battle back to be up 30-29 at the half. A back and forth affair would ensue in the second half, but the Thunder would find themselves up seven with 10:02 remaining. Second chance opportunities and late free throws would push the Coyotes ahead and the Thunder would come up short in the end falling 70-62. The Thunder would hold the Coyotes to 31.3% shooting from the field and 19.0% from the three-point line, where the Coyotes were shooting 45.8% from three through their first two games.

Individually the Thunder were led by junior, Jaxon Hurla who had 20 points and five rebounds. Sophomore, Davis Rokey had 14 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, while senior, Micah Lovett had 12 points, three rebounds, five assists, and two steals to fill the stat sheet. Junior, Xavier Lucas had a near double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder. The shooting splits for the Thunder would be 33.3% from the field, 26.9% from the three, and 50.0% from the free throw line.

The Thunder will host their first NCCAA opponent, the Southwestern Adventist University Knights, on Friday, November 8th at 12:00 PM at Howie's Activity Center.

Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Men's Basketball news on our social media pages!

Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics

Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccmbb

Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccmb_