The King’s Fork High School boys’ basketball team took the stage for its highest level postseason game in six years on Monday, and it simply did not bring what was necessary to add a 2015 regional title to its conference tournament crown.

Bulldogs coach Josh Worrell began to pull his starters out with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter as visiting I.C. Norcom High School coasted the rest of the way to a 57-42 win, claiming the Region 4A South championship.

“We just didn’t execute well enough,” Worrell said, taking responsibility for the loss. “I don’t know why they weren’t focused enough.”

King’s Fork started the game well. In the first quarter, the Bulldogs were ferocious in the paint, collecting rebounds and blocking Greyhound shots.

The game remained scoreless for more than four and a half minutes before KF got the first basket. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-2 lead and held the ball near the end of the quarter, poised to pad their lead with a last-second play. But I.C. Norcom stole the ball and scored instead.

It was the beginning of the momentum shift that followed. The Greyhounds went up by as many as 10 points in the second quarter and led at halftime 26-19.

A three-pointer by freshman guard Rontre Pope, an inside basket by senior guard Tyese Pressley and two free throws by senior guard Craig Ingram helped bring King’s Fork within two in the third quarter, 28-26. But that was as close as the Bulldogs would ever get.

I.C. Norcom led 38-27 to begin the final period, added some three-pointers and later went up by as much as 22 points.

Time and again, King’s Fork lost ground on the scoreboard during the game as the Greyhounds were able to grab offensive rebounds.

Worrell said his players’ “mental focus on what we needed to do defensively faltered.”

When the Bulldogs drove to the hoop, the Greyhounds showed the tenacity that their hosts had in the first quarter, blocking multiple drive attempts. Meanwhile, I.C. Norcom had notable success penetrating on the other end of the court, even against pressure.

Not helping King’s Fork was the absence from the lineup of junior guard Deshaun Wethington, sidelined due to a violation of team rules. He will be back in action in Thursday’s state semifinal.

Ingram led the Bulldogs on Monday with 10 points and added six rebounds, junior guard Keith Stagg had eight points and seven boards and senior guard/forward Camryn Little had seven points.

King’s Fork (18-9) will face E.C. Glass High School in the Virginia High School League Group 4A state semifinals on Thursday at Virginia Commonwealth University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.