It still stings a couple of days later, and it probably will still sting for at least a little while longer. But it is good that it stings because that means something is there, some emotion and some pain.

Bucknell’s loss to Holy Cross in the Patriot League quarterfinals Wednesday night was tough to swallow on a couple of levels. To start with it, it was Holy Cross and the Bucknell faithful hate losing to Holy Cross any time, but especially in the Patriot League tournament. It also came when the two teams were seemingly going in opposite directions: the Bison winners in eight of 10 games and the Crusaders dropping two in a row and four of five.

But, to be honest, the better players won. Don’t think the best team won, but the better players did. That’s not to say the Bison weren’t talented, because they were, way more talented than last year. They were so talented in fact that Patrick Behan, an all-conference player as a junior, actually came off the bench this year. They were so talented that three freshmen were named to the league’s all-rookie team and another the best defender, and their best player, in my humble opinion, Darryl Shazier, was not recognized.

Right now, though, I just think Holy Cross has, man to man, better players across the board. They are a little more mature than the Bison. But they don’t play together the way this Bucknell team does, which is why the Bison won five more games than the Crusaders.

Remember, without a double-figure scorer, the Bison managed to double their win total from a year ago, going from the No. 7 seed in coach Dave Paulsen’s first year to second this season. That is a huge step and one, with a solid nucleus coming back, that could lead to something big in the next couple of years.

“The most important thing is to look at the progress we’ve made throughout this season and realize that we have the core group back,” said Shazier. “We have to build on what we’ve accomplished and get hungrier.

“This loss stings right now, but we will be back and ready next year.”

Because of what happened this year, and in particular what happened last Wednesday night in Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell is going to be miles better next winter. The only player who saw significant time who won’t be back is Behan. Fellow senior Stephen Tyree is expected to return next season after missing all of 2008-09 with a knee injury. That would leave the Bison with all five starters back and two key reserves who logged significant minutes. Add to that another year of growth for Enoch Andoh and another year of adjusting to Division I basketball for Colin Klebon, and you are looking at a tremendous building block. That does not even take into account what, from everything I’ve read and heard, is another pretty darn good recruiting class Paulsen and his staff are bringing in, led by Philadelphia prep star Cameron Ayers, the son of former 76ers coach Randy Ayers.

There are two things they can not forget. The first is what it felt like in early January when it seemed like another season was slipping away. The second is what it felt like Wednesday night when Holy Cross celebrated in Lewisburg, while the Bison dragged themselves to the locker room one final time.

Paulsen wants them to remember what it felt like on those cold, bleak January nights after they lost to Dartmouth and Loyola. And then he wants them to remember how they responded.

“A lot less resilient kids would have packed it in,” Paulsen said. “But this team came back, won eight of 10 and finished as the two seed. We live in a ‘woe is me’ society and we could have gone that way. But we bought into everything and practiced even harder.”

The second thing, losing in the playoffs at home, Paulsen is confident his team will never forget. Paulsen wants the Bison to get back to the days where no team came into Sojka Pavilion expecting to win. Didn’t matter who it was or what conference they came from, if they made the trip to Lewisburg, they were going to be in a fight for 40 minutes.

They aren’t that far from that right now, and they have to remember that.

“Sometimes you have to kick on the door before you can knock it down,” Paulsen said. “We just weren’t quite ready to get over the hump yet. But we had to go through this experience. We hung in there and really got better. When we have some time and space, we can reflect on a lot of progress that was made this year.”

Sports editor Bill Bowman covers college basketball for The Daily Item. E-mail comments to bbowman@dailyitem.com