The King’s Fork High School boys’ basketball team experienced the torrent of the visiting Lake Taylor High School Titans’ pressure defense on Friday night during the Region 4A South semifinals.

The struggle between two teams fighting to keep their seasons from ending reached a fever pitch during the fourth quarter and then overtime. But in the end, it was attention to the simple things the Bulldogs work on in practice that gave them a 75-71 victory.

The victory qualified them for the Virginia High School League Group 4A state tournament and gave them a chance to play for a regional championship for the first time since their 2008-09 state title run.

“It’s a great accomplishment for the guys that work hard in practice every day,” King’s Fork coach Josh Worrell said. “That’s the only way you get to this point.”

The Bulldogs led 18-11 to end the first quarter, 40-27 at halftime, and they pushed that lead out to 46-27 at one point during the third quarter, and defense was helping make it happen.

But the Titans’ pressure defense, which helped them come back and put away the Bulldogs 58-41 back in January, started changing the complexion of the game in the third period.

Suddenly, King’s Fork struggled to execute on offense, and if it missed a shot or failed to get the ball down the court, the consequence was a Lake Taylor basket or trip to the foul line.

The Bulldog’s lead shrunk to 52-48 by the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter featured 10 lead changes, often as the teams traded free throws. But this was an area where King’s Fork showed it was equal to the task the Titans were imposing on them.

From the 4:28 point in the fourth quarter through the end of the game, the Bulldogs made seven trips to the charity stripe and found the bottom of the net in all 14 attempts.

KF junior guard Keith Stagg hit two free throws with 57.2 seconds to go in regulation to give his team a 67-64 lead.

About 15 seconds later, Lake Taylor tied up the game on a three-pointer.

Then, Bulldogs junior center Chris Roscoe made two more foul shots with 18.9 seconds remaining to give his team a 69-67 advantage. The Titans responded by making a difficult field goal to send the game into an extra session.

“We made them take tough shots, and they made them,” Worrell said.

Roscoe picked up in overtime where he left off in regulation, hitting two more from the line. Lake Taylor responded again to tie the game, but then Stagg gave his team a 73-71 advantage with two more free throws.

The Bulldogs came up with a big stop on defense via a block with about 1:30 remaining, but ended up throwing the ball away with 31.3 seconds to go.

The Titans missed on their ensuing possession, King’s Fork rebounded, and Bulldogs junior guard Deshaun Wethington was fouled with 10.4 seconds on the clock.

Worrell noted he regularly makes his team participate in a drill to hone their free throw shooting skills. They must make a certain number of foul shots before they are done with it, and he has grown accustomed to how efficiently they complete it.

Earlier in the day on Friday, he said they performed above and beyond the norm in that drill.

“We’ve got to make free throws to win ball games,” he said.

Wethington calmly hit both of his free throws to put Friday’s game out of reach for Lake Taylor.

“It’s just a great effort, collectively,” Worrell said

Of qualifying for states and getting a chance to play for the regional title, Stagg said, “It means a lot. It’s all we work for.”

King’s Fork (18-8) will face either I.C. Norcom High School or Glen Allen High School in the regional championship on a day yet to be determined. If I.C. Norcom wins their semifinal game on Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs will host the title game.