The end was a heartbreaker, a 72-63 loss to Hobart in a Liberty League final that they were leading for most of the game. But senior Jamie Zajac can still look back as his senior season at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the highlight of his college basketball career.

Zajac was still feeling the sting of Saturday’s loss on Tuesday morning. But when he looks back on the last few week of his college basketball career, the Bishop Guertin graduate from Merrimack can smile.

His team, picked sixth in the league when the season started, was riding an eight-game winning streak when it met Hobart in the finals.

“We just started to really click as a team,’’ Zajac said. “We definitely stepped it up on defense, but we all just started to trust each other more.’’

Zajac played a huge role in the late-season surge, including scoring a team-high 20 points in an 85-77 semifinal victory over Union.

On the season Zajac, who was named to the All-Liberty League second team, was second on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, led the team in assists (81) and steals (41) and was fourth in rebounds with 87.

“Last year I thought we had a great team and underachieved,’’ said Zajac, who averaged 10.8 points per game as a junior starter. “This was my favorite year because of the way it all came together.’’

Another big part of the resurgence was a player from Zajac’s home town, freshman Tyler Gendron of Merrimack who was named to the league’s All-Rookie team.

“Even though we’re from the same town, I didn’t really know him until this year,’’ Zajac said. “He’s a great kid and he’s really talented.

“It’s a tough adjustment from high school to college. He handled it incredibly well and had some huge games for us down the stretch.’’

In a late-season overtime victory over St. Lawrence, Gendron had a career high 23 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Gendron, who averaged 8.2 points as a freshman, was second on the team in 3-point field goals with 56 and had the team’s highest percentage (39 percent) from beyond the arc.

He’ll keep alive a New Hampshire connection at RPI that included former Bishop Guertin players Tom Schneider and Mike Brion, as well as former Merrimack player Eric Gendron.

“Schneider was my AAU coach at one point,’’ Zajac said. “We all still keep in touch. I’m sure the coach will continue to look for New Hampshire kids.’’

With basketball over, Zajac said his next step is finding a job. He’ll graduate with a degree in civil engineering this spring.

CONNOR GREEN

Freshman Connor Green came off the bench to score 11 points in just 15 minutes, helping the Amherst College men’s basketball team beat Williams, 76-75, in the NESCAC Conference finals.

Amherst, 25-2, earns a bye and advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 9.

Green, a Bishop Guertin graduate who attended Phillips Exeter last winter, averaged 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds this winter coming off the bench. He was second on the team in 3-pointers made with 46.

TAYLOR CARBONE

University of Massachusetts freshman Taylor Carbone of Hudson is hitting .350 through eight games for the Minutemen, third best on the team. Her .348 on-base percentage is a second on the team.

Carbone, who pitched Alvirne to back-to-back Division I titles, is starting at second base for UMass.

BILL FERRITER

Red-shirt senior center fielder Bill Ferriter of Nashua had a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning on Sunday, knocking in the only run of game in the University of Connecticut’s 1-0 victory over Texas Tech.

Through six games Ferriter is hitting .259, fourth best on the team. The leadoff hitter’s on-base percentage is .344.

KELLY MORGAN

Kelly Morgan of Brookline, a junior guard at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, led the NEWMAC Conference this winter in 3-point field goal percentage.

Morgan shot 48 percent from beyond the arc. She was third on the team in scoring at 8.2 points per game.

KATELYN ROESER

Newbury College freshmen Katelyn Roeser of Nashua had an outstanding freshman year as the starting point guard.

Chosen All-NECC Conference honorable mention, the Nashua North graduate averaged 7.8 points per game, third best on the team, and led the team in both 3-pointers (48) and assists (78).

MIKE O’LOUGHLIN

Sophomore guard Mike O’Loughlin of Milford finished as the second leading scorer this winter on the Wheaton College men’s basketball team, at 9.9 points per game.

O’Loughlin, who transferred to Wheaton after spending his freshman year at Trinity College, was second on the team in minutes played at 28.4.

RACHAEL CARTER

Sophomore guard Rachel Carter of Merrimack led the Salem State women’s basketball team in scoring average this winter at 13.2 points per game.

Carter was second on the team in rebounding at 4.9 and second in total assists with 74.

KEVIN ROSENBERG

After a personal-best qualifying throw of 50 feet, 6 inches, February 14 at the Boston University “Make Up” meet, Northeastern University shot putter and Nashua North grad Kevin Rosenberg’s throw of 49 feet, 7 inches placed him 10th at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Indoor Track and Field Championships held Feb. 23 at Boston University.

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