HUTCHINSON, Kan. - The most successful season in Harford men's basketball history came to an end in the first round of the 2016 NJCAA National Tournament on Monday. The No. 24 Fighting Owls fell to No. 9 Neosho County, 69-57.

Harford jumped out to a torrid pace from the jump, scoring the first eight points of the contest and holding an 11-point lead at 17-6. The Panthers battled back with stingy defense and took its first lead of the contest at 29-27 off a 3-pointer with 1:57 left in the half. Neosho led 31-27 at the break, despite losing the turnover battle 10-3.

As hot as they started the first half, the Fighitng Owls were just as cold to open the second half. The Panthers built a double-digit lead and their defense forced Harford's into poor shooting en route to the win. Neosho outshot Harford 46.2 percent to 23.1 percent to advance to face No. 8 Gillette in the Sweet 16 on Tuesday.

Aaron McDonald led the way for Harford with 15 points, four assists and three steals and Cedric Hines chipped in with 13 in his final game at Harford. Jalen Thompson pulled in a team-best nine rebounds, including four offensive boards. Neosho outrebounded Harford 54-42, but the Fighting Owls corralled 19 offensive caroms to the Panthers' dozen.

Neosho was led by Jalen Jackson's 20 points and 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Daran Lee added 13 points with 10 coming in the first half to key the Panther comeback.

The Fighting Owls finish the year with a school-record 21 victories and the program's first NJCAA Division I Region XX Title and trip to the NJCAA National Tournament. In both years under head coach Mike Smelkinson, Harford has reached the finals of both the MD JUCO Tournament and Region XX Championships while winning the conference crown in 2015 and the region title in 2016. The 40 victories in two seasons is also a school record.