The #3 seed Thunder men's basketball team took the floor in the quarterfinal game at the NCCAA National Tournament on Thursday afternoon and would face-off with the #6 seed Crown College Polars. The Thunder and the Polars met last season in the third place game at the National Tournament, where the Polars would get the victory. On Thursday, the game would start with each team swapping baskets to start the first half. The Thunder would be down by four about halfway through the first half before a 7-0 would give them a three point lead. It was more back and forth play throughout most of the half until the Thunder to their largest lead of 10 with 2:03 remaining until the break. The Thunder would take a 36-28 lead into halftime. The Polars would tie the game at 45 roughly seven minutes into the second half, but the Thunder would push the lead back to seven with just under 10 minutes to play. From that point on, the Thunder would only score nine more points, have costly turnovers, and stumble to the Polars, 71-64. Sophomore, Tatum Pierce would have a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while senior, Xavier Lucas would lead the Thunder with 16 points. Redshirt-junior, Jordan Carter would chip in with 15 points on 7-10 shooting from the field. The Thunder would shoot 38.7% from the field, 44.4% from the three-point line, and 42.1% from the free throw line.

The Thunder would have the opportunity to play one more game together in a consolation against the #2 seed Great Lakes Christian College Crusaders. The Thunder would fall behind 10-4 early, but would go on a 13-0 run to take a seven point lead. After that run, the Thunder would never trail again. They would lead by as much as 14 in the first half and would take a 42-34 lead into halftime. Throughout the second half, the Thunder would maintain their lead and would be up as much as 17 twice with 13:55 and 9:40 remaining, respectively. The Crusaders would cut the lead to seven with 5:01 left, but the Thunder would hold on and finish the season with the 85-75 win. Senior, Jaxon Hurla would need three three-pointers to break Ryan Kluttz's single-season three-pointers made record that has been in place since the 2006-07 season. Hurla would go on to hit four and finish this season with 101 made threes to set a new program record. He would finish with 12 points. Pierce would score 16 and grab nine rebounds, while Carter would have 11 points. Also, 11 of the 13 players who played scored. The Thunder would shoot 40.3% from the field, 23.7% from the three-point line, and 66.7% from the free throw line. They would also out-rebound the Crusaders 54-39 and had 23 assists on 31 made baskets.

The Thunder have finished their season with a 25-10 record, a 9-3 Midwest Christian College Conference record, and a 9-3 mark in the region. They would also be champions of the MCCC and the NCCAA Central Region.

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.