Macon and Mercer got their first taste of March Madness in their own living room for four days.

And Macon and Mercer found out first-hand why it’s addictive.

The reviews will start coming in from teams in a few days, and much to the relief of many, Mercer didn’t do anything to hurts its chances when the bid process resumes in a year.

To be sure, the basketball itself didn’t leave anybody with an empty stomach.

From the quality performances of East Tennessee State’s women to the upstarts at Kennesaw State (men) and North Florida (women) to a to-the-wire men’s side, the four-day event delivered.

Macon, the city too cool or apathetic to appreciate, did a respectable job in turning out, albeit perhaps not that much for the non-Mercer games.

But showing up, for Macon, is most of the battle, and it got its money’s worth.

More new local faces took in the University Center and were introduced or reintroduced to the school and the fact that it’s a Division I athletics program. Maybe they also saw the softball and baseball facilities, too, and will start showing up there every now and then.

But, holy cow, there was one big honest-to-goodness homecourt advantage for the Bears, and the University Center was nothing short of March Madness.

People painted faces and other body parts, were loud, yelled stupid things at refs, chanted and jumped, held placards of James Florence’s jersey and — this is the stunner — flat out rocked.

(Sorry, but don’t forget that Dickie V was at the University Center just five months ago. Apparently there’s still a vibe there.)

For more than two hours on three different occasions, Mercer and Macon weren’t, well, the Mercer and Macon that so many criticize (often deservedly so, often not).

And people saw three fantastic games, three memorable efforts and three tastes of big-time college sports.

Getting to that dance is a struggle, and how teams get there isn’t the point. It’s tough no matter the conference.

And no matter the fortune, as was the case with ETSU’s women, who by all accounts should have spent Sunday in bed wondering how they lost to North Florida.

But there was no call on a walk that would have drawn a whistle even in the NBA, and ETSU hit the game-winner with two seconds left, and the seventh seed’s heart was crushed.

Middle Georgians in uniform more than did their part, with Jacksonville’s Ben Jones (Dublin) making the all-tournament team and going down to the wire with teammate Lehmon Colbert (Crawford County). Brandi Jones (Jones County) had 10 points in 16 minutes for Kennesaw State in its 70-65 loss to Belmont.

And, of course, ETSU’s Siarre Evans of Spalding had her normal MVP week.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem as though as many fans of those players turned out as expected, although a 9 p.m. start for Jacksonville both nights didn’t help, especially on Thursday.

The lights to the tournament went off just before 11 p.m. Saturday night, when Tom Sitten of the UC staff awaited the departure of the final person before shutting down.

Mercer’s teams will take a little time off before starting over again, except for the seniors. Ah, the seniors. Anybody who has known that group on both sides knows how much both Bears units lose, on and off the court.

Courtney Ford and LaToya Jackson were among the top women’s duos in the conference in their final seasons.

Few athletes at Mercer have anguished and worked like James Florence to raise his program’s profile. The expression on his face while walking to the end of the bench in the final seconds Saturday? Agony.

Florence may have left the building, but memories of what he did in it certainly won’t.

And to go to a Mercer game without an Emerson? To have no Emerson to interview? It’s more than the end of an era, let me tell you. Note that the past three winning Mercer men’s teams have had an Emerson on them.

The Florence-Emerson duo at Mercer is one that will be extraordinarily difficult to approach, let alone match, for a long time.

For all, this year’s dream is over. For those coming back, next year’s dream is a week or so from starting back up again.

And we’re 51 weeks from another A-Sun tournament, and some madness, in our living room.

Contact Michael A. Lough at 744-4626 or mlough@macon.com