The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams both opened Midwest Christian College Conference play this weekend in Ankeny, Iowa. The women would start conference play on Friday afternoon against Emmaus University. The Lady Thunder would lead 11-10 after one quarter. A back and forth start to the second quarter would see the score tied four different times, but the Eagles would take a 28-23 advantage into halftime. The Lady Thunder would chip into that lead by winning the third quarter 13-10 to cut the deficit to two heading into the fourth. With 4:15 left in the game, the Lady Thunder would take a 43-42 lead, but a 6-0 run by the Eagles would push the lead to five with under three minutes left. The Lady Thunder would cut the lead to two with 1:01 left, but the Eagles would make just enough free throws to close out the game by a final score of 55-51. Freshman, Mackenzie Lovett would have a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while junior, Elayna Spliker, who played in her first game of the season, had 12 points. Sophomore, Macayla Hines would have a near double-double for the Lady Thunder with nine points and nine boards. The Lady Thunder would shoot 27.7% from the field, 13.0% from the three-point line, and 80.0% from the free throw line.

On Saturday, the Thunder would face the defending MCCC Tournament Champions in the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles. In another back and forth game, the Lady Thunder would take a 25-24 lead into halftime. The Faith Eagles would outscore the Lady Thunder 19-13 in the third to take a five point lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Thunder would play great defense and hold the Faith Eagles to eight points in the fourth to close out the game and win their first conference game of the season, 54-51. Four Lady Thunder players would score in double figures led by a trio of 11 points scorers of Spliker, Hines, and Jasmine Hollloway. Hines would also have four rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Holloway had seven rebounds to go with her 11 points. Lovett would have another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Thunder would shoot 32.8% from the field, 26.9% from the three-point line, and 42.9% from the free throw line. As the Lady Thunder split this weekend, they move to 1-1 in MCCC play and 2-8 overall.

The Lady Thunder will open NCCAA Central Region play on Tuesday, December 9th when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to play Union Adventist University at 4:00PM.

The #4 ranked Thunder men's basketball team would also play Emmaus University on Friday to open conference play. The Thunder had a slow start falling behind 7-6 two minutes into the game and then be in a back and forth game until the 13:17 mark in the first half. The Thunder would then go on a 10-0 run over roughly the next six minutes to take an 11-point lead. The lead would expand to as much as 16 in the first half and the Thunder would take a 46-31 lead into the half. The Eagles would battle back and take advantage of Thunder turnovers and missed layups to cut the lead to three with 10:26 left in the game. The Thunder would regroup and dominate the game on the defensive end and close out the gam with a 30-13 run to win their first MCCC game, 84-64. Senior, Jaxon Hurla would hit six threes and score 24 points to lead the Thunder, while freshman, Trayden Chambers would have 15 points on 6-7 shooting and four rebounds in 14 minutes. Tatum Pierce and Jordan Carter would also score in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Pierce would also have six rebounds and three steal, while Carter would have five rebounds and six assists. The Thunder would shoot 45.2% from the field, 42.9% from the three-point line, and 61.3% from the free throw line.

On Saturday, the Thunder would have their first true road game of the season with the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles, who is receiving vote in this weeks NCCAA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Thunder would score the first basket of the game, but the Faith Eagles would rattle off eight straight to force a timeout. The Thunder would have to battle from behind the whole first half and would get as close as two before the Eagles would hit a three to close out the half to lead 48-43 after 20 minutes. The threes would continue to rain in for the Eagles as they would lead by as much as 14 in the second half. The Thunder would claw its way back into the game tying it at 83 with 3:26 left. A timely stop with 20 seconds would give the Thunder the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Thunder could not convert and a last second heave was no good and the Thunder would fall, 93-91. Eight players would have at least eight points for the Thunder led by junior, Hunter Hill who would have a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder could not overcome 19 threes from the Eagles and 20 turnovers, but would still shoot 52.5% from the field, 37.5% from the three-point line, and 77.8% from the free throw line. In splitting two games this weekend, the Thunder are 1-1 in the MCCC and 6-3 overall.

The Thunder will also open NCCAA Central Region play on Tuesday, December 9th when they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to play Union Adventist University 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.