In some situations; ending the friendship is the best [or least painful] thing to do. But I'd say that all depends on factors that we don't know.
Whether or not you end it, that's up to you.
The best thing I can think of - is for you to tell him that you're sorry that the past couple months have been hard for him, and as much as you like him; you don't like him in that way and that you enjoy his friendship.
Maybe say sorry for the hurt feelings you were mentioning?
It's good though, that you know what you want.
I would just think it over. Come up with a list of pros and cons of keeping or ending the friendship. And then deciding what to do is easier from there [usually]