RALEIGH, N.C. -- The history books might not reflect this, and the final scoreboard certainly didn't, but it's worth noting: Baltimore scared top-seeded North Carolina last night.

The Tar Heels fans had no idea what hit them. It was right in the middle of the national anthem when the loud Mount St. Mary's cheering section blurted out a boisterous "Oh!" You should have seen the blue-clad blue hairs in the stands. Looked as if someone unsweetened their tea.

Baltimore was back in the NCAA tournament, and though none of the three area teams advanced past the first round, nothing that happened in yesterday's lopsided losses diminishes what these teams accomplished this season.

No one captured the emotions and the cumulative achievement better than UMBC coach Randy Monroe. Monroe took over a 7-21 team four years ago. Yesterday he was on the dais, explaining how his team lost in the NCAA tournament. What a great place it was to be.

"I can't be more proud of this group of young men," Monroe said before his voice caught in his throat. It took him a second to continue. He looked up toward the ceiling and then down at his folded hands. "These young men fought hard all year and gave absolutely everything they have. They took me on a fantastic ride."

UMBC, Mount St. Mary's, Coppin State and other area programs that fell just short of an NCAA tournament bid took us all on quite a ride. It was the kind of hoops season Baltimore hasn't seen in a long time, the kind we'd be fortunate to see again any time soon.

So Coppin State lost in the play-in game, and so UMBC fell to Georgetown, 66-47, and so Mount St. Mary's was trounced by North Carolina, 113-74 -- what they did in the weeks and months leading up to this week's games was hardly lessened by the early exits.

I mean, that was Billy Packer and Jim Nantz yesterday on press row, wearing headsets and calling out their names on national TV. Chris Vann. Ray Barbosa. Darryl Proctor. Markus Mitchell. Names even the casual fan back in Baltimore might not have heard until this week.

And on the court, they were streaking back and forth over the large NCAA logo and guarding players from Georgetown and North Carolina, schools with major hardware in their trophy cases. During warm-ups, they couldn't help but steal a peek. "You see them on TV all the time," UMBC senior Brian Hodges said. "It's totally different, though, when you see them in person."

Said the Mount's Vann: "I'm a competitor, I hate to lose, but when you're going up against the No. 1 team in the country, that's just a great experience. I can say I played Carolina [in] the final game of my college career."

Up in the stands, fans used to screaming in a small pond managed to get their voice heard in the ocean that is theRBC Center. About 90 percent of the evening crowd was wearing Carolina blue. But while the Tar Heels were picking at their tournament appetizer, their fans were glued to their seats. The pocket of Mount St. Mary's fans in sections 105 and 106 stood nearly the entire game, screaming themselves hoarse, even when their team trailed by 40.

The local teams showed flashes, even against the nation's elite. Anyone flipping the channels from a couch in Des Moines saw bursts of what got the Mountaineers and the Retrievers this far. But Georgetown was too big, too physical. And North Carolina was too, well, North Carolina.

Both local teams yesterday were big underdogs, and even though they didn't bust any brackets or spoil any office pools, the losses were taken in perspective.

"Growing up, you watch the NCAA tournament and you dream about playing there someday," Hodges said. "My dream came true today."

Here's what hoops fans should find most promising: This season might not stand out as an anomaly. Teams in this area have turned a corner, from UMBC and Mount St. Mary's here in Raleigh to Loyola and Morgan State back at home. The Retrievers, for example, will return four starters next season. So will the Mountaineers.

"I talked to the guys in the locker room. ... I told them I'm kind of jealous of them," said Vann, a senior, "because they'll be back." Almost immediately, as other teams began talking about second-round opponents, the Baltimore teams, overachieving and exiting early, were already excited about making a return trip 12 months from now. And maybe hanging around a bit longer next time.

Mountaineers coach Milan Brown didn't waste any time last night. He told his players he was proud of them, and then, "the next thing out of my mouth was -- and the guys laugh -- 'I know you all are going to think I'm crazy because I'm talking about next year and you're still sweating from the last game,'" Brown said.

Getting this far was enough this year, but they can envision a day when they really do put a scare in the big-time programs -- not during the anthem, but during the actual game.

rick.maese@baltsun.com