Colby men’s basketball’s season came to an end Tuesday night with a 77-67 win over the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI). The win ends the season on a definite high note, though the Mules would have preferred the exclamation point wins over Connecticut College and Wesleyan University would have provided.

On Friday, Feb. 10, the Mules hosted Conn. College to keep their New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoff hopes alive. Colby would have needed a win over the previously winless Camels to stay in the NESCAC hunt at 2-7.

Tri-captain Ben Foreman ’12 dominated the back-and-forth tilt, netting 23 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Connor O’Neil used a hot streak to chip in 12 points and four assists.

Down one point with just 7.6 seconds remaining, Foreman put the Mules ahead with a jumper from the elbow, sending the crowd into a raucous. The Camels used a timeout to draw up a tricky baseline inbounds play, passing the ball along the line and creating space for leading scorer Matt Vadas (15 points) to get the ball. Vadas dribbled up the right side of the court, made a move to his right at the elbow and pulled up from nearly behind the backboard, drilling a shot to silence the home crowd, putting the Camels up 55-54 with just 0.7 seconds left. Foreman’s full-court heave fell short, and as he collapsed to the floor, Colby’s playoff dreams followed suit.

The following day, the Mules hosted Wesleyan on Senior Day as Foreman, fellow captains Eric Beaulieu ’12, Kyle Donovan ’12, Alex Swanson ’12 and Matt Cheever ’12 were honored.

Foreman came up big, scoring nearly half of Colby’s points (34 of 70) and taking nearly half of Colby’s shots (24 of 50). Foreman’s 34 points were his personal best as a Mule; he nailed eight three-point shots and added four assists. Beaulieu scored 14 points and added six boards, three assists and two steals.

Balanced scoring, however, led Wesleyan to the 76-70 win. Five Cardinals scored in double figures, led by Shasha Brown with 16. In the win over UMPI, Donovan led the Mules with 15 points on 75 percent shooting, adding five rebounds. Foreman finished his Colby career with 14 points to go along with five assists. Swanson also shot well from the field, scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting. O’Neil contributed a solid all-around game with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

With the win, Colby’s season comes to an end. The Mules finish the season at 7-17 overall and 1-9 in the NESCAC. The Mules will look to improve next year as coach Damian Farley enters his second season. Colby will look to O’Neil and Shane Rogers ’15 to fill the scoring gap left by the productive senior class.