Northwestern's boys basketball players headed into the season with lofty goals.

Despite the struggles of the past two seasons, as well as the fact that the team had only a few players with varsity experience, the Tigers had hopes of a winning season and a berth in the district playoffs.

It might have been just a little too much to expect a team that went 2-20 last year to go 11-11 or better this year. The Tigers finished the 2012-13 season four wins short of that goal at 7-15 overall and 4-12 in the Colonial League.

"It's very unlikely for a team to go from 2-20 to districts," said senior guard David Wagner. "It was a hefty goal, but it was a goal we could have gotten. We just couldn't finish games. We didn't have the experience.

"The guys next year will have a good shot. We're moving in the right direction as far as the program goes."

Wagner and four teammates finished their high school basketball careers last Thursday with a loss to Catasauqua. They are Jarred Binder, Ty Richardson, Rich Perry and Mason Schuler.

That class included Binder, a 6-foot-6 center who just began playing basketball in eighth grade, and Perry, a 6-3 forward who began his hoops career as a freshman.

This year's team improved in many areas, especially in ball handling and defense. But it's inexperience showed at times.

This team was the first to have a full offseason with the current coaching staff, as Eddinger took over the program during the summer of 2011.

"I love these guys," Eddinger said of this year's senior class. "We went from two wins to seven wins. That's a big step up.

"I just wish I could have started with this group as freshmen as see what we could have done over four years."

He will miss them next season. The Class of 2013 includes four of the team's five top scorers, including Binder (9.67 points per game), the Tigers' top scorer.

Eddinger has a core to build around for next year. Sophomore point guard Josh Williamson returns, along with starting forward Cam Richardson, a junior who was second on the team at 6.4 points per game this year. Junior forward Collin Breidinger, the team's sixth man this year, is also expected to return. He showed strong rebounding ability as well as a solid three-point stroke this season.

"I'm going to miss [the seniors] a lot," said Eddinger. "At the same time I'm excited about the future and excited for them to come back as alumni and watch us play.

"Next year we're going to be extremely young and extremely small, unless kids grow."

This year's team laid a foundation for the future. The team's improvement showed not only in the standings, where it had finished last in the the Colonial League's North Division the past two years, but also on the court.

Wagner, a two-year varsity player, noted the team's evolution since his days as a JV player. He an his teammates knew it would be difficult to become contenders after the past two season, but they never considered giving up.

"Two years ago we were just getting blown out of every game," he said. "Last year we were in games, we just couldn't finish them. After last year we talked a little bit and all thought the same thing - if we came back we could get closer to districts. We missed it by four games, but we had four games that were within five or six points. We all had the mindset that we wanted to come back and give it our best shot."

None of this year's players left the court overjoyed by what the team accomplished this year, but they did feel a sense of pride in knowing they got the program's turnaround underway.

"I can't be happy with a losing season," said Binder. "But I feel our program is going in the right direction. I'm happy for the other guys coming up."

For the most part in 2012-13, the Tigers won the games they were expected to and lost to most of the winning teams they faced. The team's inexperience showed more against the better teams it faced.

"The effort was there," Binder said. "Our scoring came in spurts. We had a lot of hot and cold times. Consistency was a struggle for us."

While it's hard to judge a team's potential against its results, the people closest to this year's Northwestern boys basketball team know they did the best they could, which is all anyone could ask.

"We definitely got as much out of the season as we could with our experience," said Wagner. "We didn't know how to finish games. The season went as far as we could take it."

A season like this one makes it possible for the program to hope for a bright future.

"It does lay a foundation," said Eddinger. "I'm excited about the future and what lies ahead for the program."