Head Coach Jim Mullins had been waiting to get his hair cut until after the men’s basketball team’s season ended. He had also hoped that wasn’t going to happen until well into March.

And while Mullins said Monday he had originally planned to do it that afternoon, with his team’s 88–68 season-ending loss to St. John Fisher College still only three days old, Mullins said he could wait just a little bit longer.

As the Empire 8 has been all season, the conference postseason tournament this past weekend packed a handful of surprises — the two top seeds losing in the first round, followed by the upstart Nazareth College Golden Flyers knocking off five-time defending champion St. John Fisher College in the championship game.

“It truly was wide open coming in,” Mullins said. “I felt that more than any other year. [But] it didn’t make [the loss] any less painful.”

Senior guard Scott Ruffrage said the Bombers simply failed to play up to their potential against the Cardinals.

“Everyone’s really disappointed,” Ruffrage said. “We know we’re a better team than how we played. That was probably one of the worst games we played all season and it couldn’t have come at a worst time.”

The 2007-08 season wasn’t all for naught for Ithaca though, despite the disappointing first-round exit. The Bombers set a school record for the highest scoring season, averaging 82.5 points per game, and finished with the most wins since the 1999-2000 season.

Junior point guard Sean Burton was named Empire 8 Player of the Year, while both Burton and junior center Jeff Bostic were named to the All-Empire 8 first team for the second consecutive year.

This season also saw the emergence of junior forward Sean Leahy as a dangerous outside shooter and viable go-to scoring option. Senior center Louis Kail and junior guard Brendan Rogers stepped into the starting lineup midway through the season, helping propel the Bombers to their late-season run to clinch home-court advantage in the tournament.

Sophomore forward Tom Brown and freshman guard Chris Cruz also shined down the stretch, providing a preview of things to come for the talented underclassmen in future seasons.

As with every season, this year was also the last hurrah for Ithaca’s group of seniors. Kail, Scanlon and possibly Ruffrage, who has one year of eligibility left and is considering a post-graduation year, have played their final games as members of the Blue and Gold, something Mullins said is tough for him to see.

“Your seniors always mean a lot; they’re part of the family [so] it’s hard to see them go,” Mullins said. “Lou and Dom are two of the most special kids I’ve ever coached.”

Leahy said the team hopes Ruffrage returns in 2008-09, but Kail and Scanlon provide unique aspects that will prove difficult to replace.

“Dom and Louis are going to be big losses,” Leahy said. “Louis, you can’t really measure him with stats. He brought a lot of energy … and was the team leader this year. Dom was a huge spark plug off the bench.”