The Thunder women's and men's basketball teams were back in action this weekend at Howie's Activity Center. On Friday night, both Thunder teams would host Midwest Christian College Conference rival the Ozark Christian College Ambassadors. The women would open up the night against the #3 ranked and undefeated Ambassadors. The Thunder would do something that has not happened since the 2018-19 season, where the Thunder would defeat the Ambassadors three times, and upset the Ambassadors by a score of 63-59 on Friday night. The Thunder would take a 39-33 lead into the half and hold strong in the second half to secure their first victory over their rivals in six seasons.

The Thunder would shoot 38.6% from the field, 37.5% from the three-point line, and 58.8% from the free throw line. Led by junior, Nekayla Williams, who scored 18 points on 6-11 shooting from the field in 20 minutes paced the Thunder offensively. The freshman duo of Macayla Hines and Elayna Wegner, who both hit three three-pointers a piece, score 14 points and 12 points, respectively. Hines also dished out four assists.

On Saturday, the Calvary University Warriors would come to Manhattan to take on the Thunder. The women would open up the afternoon with another thrilling victory over the Warriors, who are receiving votes in the most recent poll. The Thunder would take a two-point leading after 20 minutes and fall behind by one going into the fourth quarter. A 14-9 quarter would boost the Thunder ahead for the 46-42 win. With the two wins on the weekend, the women move to 9-12 overall, 4-5 in the MCCC, and 6-4 in the NCCAA Central Region.

The Thunder would shoot 30.0% from the field, 18.2% from the three-point line, and 60.0% from the free throw line. Williams would have a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with four steals and three blocks. Freshman, Chantyl Perry would chip in with 11 points of her own.

The Thunder will hit the road for their next game on Tuesday, February 11th to take on the Barclay College Bears at 4:00 PM in Haviland, Kansas.

In the second game of the double-header on Friday, the #6 ranked men would take on the Ambassadors. While the Ambassadors scored the first basket of the game, the Thunder would never trail after that. The Thunder would take a 14-point lead into halftime and maintain that lead for most of the second half. The Ambassadors would not go away cutting the Thunder lead down to one before the Thunder would close them out with a 74-56 victory. The Thunder avenge a loss from January 17th to be in a tie atop the MCCC standings.

The Thunder would shoot 43.1% from the field, 25.0% from the three-point line, and 87.5% from the free throw line. Sophomore, Davis Rokey would lead all scorers with 27 points on 11-19 shooting from the field, to go along with nine rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Micah Lovett would also pace the offense with 11 points and five assists, while juniors, Jaxon Hurla and Xavier Lucas would each have nine points. Lucas would also snag 12 rebounds.

The #6 ranked men would also take on the Warriors on Saturday afternoon. Despite a slow start, the Thunder would take care of the Warriors by a score of 89-54. The Thunder would fall behind 13-9 before a 17-0 run would put them ahead for good. Another 15-0 run in the first half would extend the lead into the half. The lead would blossom as large as 39 in the second half as the Thunder closed out the Warriors. With two victories this weekend, the men are now 16-9, 8-1 in the MCCC, and 8-0 in the NCCAA Central Region.

Rokey would have another 20-point game scoring 21 points on 10-13 shooting from the field and grabbing nine rebounds. Lucas would score 14 points on 6-8 shooting, while Lovett stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, five assists, six steals, and two blocks. Redshirt-sophomore, Jordan Carter would also have an efficient afternoon scoring 12 points on 5-7 shooting, to go with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 13 minutes. The Thunder would shoot 47.9% from the field, 20.0% from the three-point line, and 76.2% from the free throw line as a team. The Thunder defense would also force 23 Warrior turnovers.

The Thunder will hit the road for their next game on Tuesday, February 11th to take on the Barclay College Bears at 6:00 PM.

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