You had to be there because no video camera, no radio broadcast, no Internet chat could do justice to Grand Island Central Catholic's one-point win over Ravenna, 49-48. The Crusaders advance to Saturday's 5 p.m. championship.

The storytellers will fall short on this one. Believe me.

I was lucky.

I was there.

All I have for you are words, but they will fail me and you. So be advised what follows will not approach the drama, the adrenaline, the courage and the intensity of Friday afternoon at Pershing.

For a game whose second half ruined hundreds of manicures, the first half was shamelessly streaky. GICC snapped off a 15-6 lead, followed closely by an 18-2 Ravenna run. The Crusaders' Jake O'Connor sizzled in the former, Ravenna's Greg Nissen in the latter.

After that, it was essentially basket for basket, defensive stand for defense stand, rebound for rebound.

For GICC, it was also bad ankle for bad ankle, or the body part of your choice. Spencer and Turner Fahey and O'Connor limped the entire second half. Fortunately for coach Bill Gavers, the ankle bone isn't attached to the heart bone in that trio or any of his season-tested players. Tough comes in a variety of flavors, but the tastiest is a combination of physically and mentally. This team exudes both.

So does Ravenna. Friday's fourth quarter makes young men grow regardless of who wins. The Blue Jays, looking like winners one minute, their hopes dashed the next, raced the length of the court and still got a shot to win.

For a split second, Pershing, swirling in chaos and pandemonium, stopped, waiting for the ball to complete its arc and descent. The eruption behind me was deafening, the disbelief and disappointment across the way obvious.

Actually, it was more than that.

But you had to be there.

A couple years ago, I wrote a column listing my top 10 basketball memories, those moments or games that stay with you.

While never a fan of "instant classics," I am moving GICC/Ravenna State semifinal 2008 onto the list. A sampler platter of evidence: the pressure defense on both sides; plenty of sets of hands quicker than a Britney Spears marriage; Ravenna's Adam Mingus running the floor the entire game with determined, yet almost joyous abandon; GICC's Casey Wiens off the bench to nail a late three for the lead and ignite a spleen-shaking roar; Ravenna's press a series of inexhaustible and interchangeable parts; Sam Bolton bigger inside than he has ever been.

But most of all, it was the incessant roller coaster of emotion as the game wound down to Spencer Fahey's free throws and Mingus' dash to the other end.

Yeah, this one is going on the list.

The "be there" list.

A few more thoughts

Now that I've caught my breath from GICC/Ravenna, some other observations:

I went to a track meet and a basketball game broke out when Omaha Benson met Bellevue West in a big-school game Thursday night at Devaney. A thunderous dunk and a long three-pointer are the current gold standards for offensive star power, but nothing tickles my ticket stub like a fast break.

Memo to the Basketball Fashion Police: Has the no socks look outlived its usefulness? Go ahead, sign me up for Fuddy Duddy therapy, but it's basketball, not a pool party.

I just finished watching Elmwood-Murdoch beat Ponca in overtime. I don't know if one class can have this much crazy karma, but Pershing, long a target of my benign little barbs, hosted a boatload of C-2 drama Friday.

Elmwood-Murdoch moves on to play GICC in a final no one expected.

I do know this, however.

I'll be there.

George Ayoub is senior writer at The Independent