The King’s Fork High School boys’ basketball team toppled top-seeded Heritage High School on Saturday night to become the Ironclad Conference tournament champions.

Victory eluded the Bulldogs in the same game last year when they fell to Lakeland High School by two points, but Saturday’s contest was not so close in the end as the No. 2 Bulldogs ran out the clock on their home floor to conclude a 61-48 victory.

King’s Fork struggled during the first half to contain Hurricanes senior guard/forward Romello Anderson, the conference Player of the Year. Bulldogs coach Josh Worrell said Anderson scored 16 of Heritage’s first 20 points.

“We did much better in the second half of what we need to do defensively,” Worrell said.

The improved defense led to easy scoring opportunities for King’s Fork. Junior guard/forward Keith Stagg led the Bulldogs with 20 points for the game to go with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.

KF junior center Chris Roscoe added 14 points, and junior guard Deshaun Wethington contributed 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

“I think it was a good team effort,” Worrell said.

While the victory means the Bulldogs have achieved one of their goals, Worrell made it clear more remains to be done as he said he communicated to his players, “You can’t be satisfied where we’re at right now.”

King’s Fork (16-8) will begin play in the Region 4A South tournament on Tuesday, hosting Caroline High School in the first round at a time to be determined.

The King’s Fork High School boys’ basketball team claimed the Ironclad Conference tournament championship with a 61-48 victory over Heritage High School tonight.

Look in tomorrow’s paper or check here later tonight for the full game story.