Ripley’s Blake Justice attacks the basket during Wednesday’s Class AAA state quarterfinal game against Nitro at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

CHARLESTON — The 3-ball just wasn’t falling for Ripley.

The Vikings finished 6 for 30 (20%) from beyond the arc, and among those 24 misses was an open look from the corner at the buzzer as Nitro held on for a 48-45 win in Wednesday’s Class AAA state quarterfinals at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

“Coming into Charleston Coliseum, we knew it was going to be hard to shoot here,” said Ripley head coach Derek Mullins. “It shows — 6 of 30 from 3. We usually don’t do that. We’re a 10, 11, 12 3-point shooting team out of 25, 30. Add a couple more to the table and it’s a different ball game.”

Ripley (19-6) trailed 11-3 late in the first quarter but cut it to 14-9 by the start of the second. Starting at the 6:08 mark on a basket by Brandon Sias, the Vikings used a 14-3 run to take a 23-18 lead. Matthew Stellato and Kyler Doss hit back-to-back 3-pointers to punctuate the run as Ripley led 24-20 at halftime. Nitro (18-6) got within one twice in the third, but Sias and Stellato answered with treys both times as the Vikings maintained a four-point lead, 37-33, going into the final eight minutes.

Ripley went up five on Stellato’s layup at the 6:18 mark. Nitro clawed within one with three minutes to go, but Blake Justice’s putback made it 44-41 with 2:52 remaining.

Ripley’s Matthew Stellato handles the ball during Wednesday’s Class AAA state quarterfinal game against Nitro at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

On the other end, however, Ty Stephens buried a deep 3-pointer to knot it up. After Stellato’s free throw put Ripley back up one, Caylen Thomas knocked down 2 of 2 at the foul line with 2:14 left to put Nitro ahead 46-45.

Thanks to a pair of offensive boards, Ripley got three looks to go back up, but all three were off the mark. Derek Lowe hit a pair of freebies on the other end to make it a three-point Wildcat lead.

Lowe then came up with a steal in the final seconds, but Justice swiped it back with 1.5 seconds on the clock to give Ripley one last chance. The Vikings went four-high and Nitro left Doss open in the corner, but his attempt to tie it fell short.

“We got exactly what we asked for,” Mullins said of the final play. “It’s not just that shot itself. We did a lot of little things wrong, which led us to losing the ball game.”

Sias scored a game-high 15 points to lead Ripley while Stellato added 11 points and seven rebounds. Parker Smith chipped in eight points and a team-high eight boards, Doss netted seven points and Justice finished with six points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ripley shot 29.4% (15 for 51) from the floor.

Ripley’s Brandon Sias (11) handles the ball as Nitro’s Collin Crouch (30) defends during Wednesday’s Class AAA state quarterfinal game at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

The Wildcats were 32.5% (13 for 40) from the floor. Collin Crouch posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench. Lowe added nine points, Landon Poniatowski contributed eight points and eight boards while Stephens and Ashton Crouch registered seven points apiece. Nitro outrebounded Ripley 39-32.

“I knew they were big and physical,” Mullins said. “If we limit (offensive rebounds) and not let them get so many paint touches, I think it’s a different ball game.”

Nitro will take on either Shady Spring or Robert C. Byrd at 9:30 a.m. Friday with a berth in the state finals on the line.

“Heck of an atmosphere,” Mullins said. “Our community showed up again. Two years ago, had the same thing, but only had four pep buses. Today, we had nine pep buses. The community bought around this team.

“We have a lot of guys back. We told them in the locker room this should just make you more hungry to try to get back here, but not just be satisfied with getting here. We want to win ball games here.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.