HUTCHINSON, Kansas (KMID/KPEJ) – Midland College men’s basketball was defeated by the NJCAA overall one-seed John A. Logan College in the elite eight. The Chaparrals overcame as much as a 16-point deficit in the first half to get within one point.

Midland took its first lead of the game with under 10 minutes to go in the game. The Chaparrals’ biggest lead of the afternoon was four points with under eight minutes remaining, but a Logan run squashed Midland’s lead late in the game. The Chaparrals stayed within four points or less in the final minutes, but time ran out on them.

Eight-seed Midland lost 74-70 in the end.

Trent Johnson was a standout for the Chaparrals in this quarterfinal matchup doing just about everything on both sides of the ball. He tied to lead all scorers with 20 points and contributed seven rebounds. Doug Young also scored 20 for Midland.

Head coach Tra Arnold finished his first season at the helm in Midland 28-7, leaps and bounds ahead of where the Chaparrals had been in recent years. Arnold led Midland to a region championship and its first NJCAA tournament in 12 years, making it all the way to the elite eight in his first season.

“It’s a great year. No one wants to lose at this point, but we’re in the elite eight. I don’t think anyone would’ve imagined that sitting here in June when they hired me,” Arnold said.

Arnold said what is ahead for the Chaparrals is recruiting nearly an entirely new group of guys that continue to push their program forward and return to the NJCAA tournament next season.