CHARLESTON — For Wyoming East over the last four years, it’s been two state championships and two consecutive state runners-up finishes.

But that fact couldn’t console the No. 1-ranked Warriors Saturday.

The Warriors lost to Oak Hill 55-45 in the Class AA state championship game at the Civic Center.

Wyoming East led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before Oak Hill took command, leaving the Warriors in their dust.

“Today’s game was a tale of two halves,” said Wyoming East coach Rory Chapman. “We left a bunch of points on the floor offensively. We missed several lay-ups and missed some foul shots in the first half. We had some threes rattle in and out.

“We weren’t satisfied with a nine-point lead going into halftime. We should have been up to about 15 or 16.”

The Warriors led the No. 2 Red Devils 22-13 at halftime, allowing Oak Hill to connect on just six field goals in the first two quarters.

Oak Hill answered with a 29-4 surge that gave the Red Devils a 32-31 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

“We got up again early in the third quarter (scoring the first five points of the half) — but it’s been like this all season — we get this lead and we start branching off and kind of doing other stuff outside of our offense,” Chapman said. “Today, it came back to haunt us. We took some bad shots and ran some sets that weren’t the right call for the set and we turned it over several times in the second half. Anytime you turn it over that many times, it’s eventually going to turn into lay-ups at the other end. That’s what happened.”

“They got a lot of momentum with their dunks,” Chapman admitted. “They really took the air out of us. We stopped making shots and they started making everything. We couldn’t get their momentum stopped. They just kept pushing forward.

“When Oak Hill is making shots, I don’t think there’s anybody in AA that’s going to beat them.”

Wyoming East also didn’t count on having to deal with added offensive production outside of Kalif Wright, Jack Flournoy or Deandre Leonard — all proven and capable scorers for Oak Hill.

“Kyle Colon was 5-for-6 from the field,” Chapman pointed out. “He’s a role player. If he’s getting that kind of scoring chances and he’s making them, it makes Oak Hill a much better team. And he played good defense. He had a big night, which played a role in their championship.

“We don’t have anything to hold our heads down about,” Chapman added. “We let one slip through our fingers. I’m proud of our guys. They gave me hard work all season long.

“We are disappointed because we came here to win. But we just came up one game short.”

Chase Morgan led the Warriors in scoring all season, averaging 20 points per game. But the junior guard couldn’t find his shooting touch Saturday, going 1-of-7 from the field.

“They shut me down the whole game with great defense,” he said. “I’m not going to make excuses; they played great defense. There was nothing I could do. Every shot was contested.

The better team won today. I can’t say that I was off with my shooting. They just played great defense.”

Evan Muscari, the only senior of the squad, was gunning for his third basketball title after winning as a freshman and sophomore and finishing as a runner-up last season.

He paced Wyoming East with 21 points, including four 3s.

“I can’t even describe my feelings,” he said. “I made six turnovers, so I’m going to take this game on my back. As a senior leader, you’re not going to have six turnovers in a state championship game. I don’t know what else to say.”

— E-mail: jworkman@register-herald.com