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.