ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : La Quinta Tournament : Middleton Comes On to Win MVP Award as Tustin Takes the Title

Rog Middleton was not a model guest Friday night.

He not only scored 24 points to lead Tustin High School to a 73-58 victory over La Quinta on La Quinta’s own floor in La Quinta’s own tournament, he also was named most valuable player.

And just before halftime, he did one more indecorous thing, particularly considering that he’s a 6-foot-4 forward.

With time running out, he drove the ball up-court, took one step across the halfcourt line, and launched a shot. It banked in cleanly; no rattling around, no bouncing.

La Quinta could have quit then.

It was halftime, and the Aztecs already trailed by 18.

“It was the finals of their tournament and I expected it to be a tough game,” said Tustin Coach Tim O’Brien.

“It was probably one of our better games,” he said. “We were very quick.”

Tustin’s inside duo of Middleton and 6-5 center Leo Parker, who scored 21, were so quick, La Quinta’s bigger and slower inside players really never had a chance.

“We got intimidated,” said La Quinta Coach Jim Perry, whose two big inside players are 6-10 and 6-6. “It took us 16 minutes to play our way out of it, and by then it was too late. We didn’t play hard, and if you don’t play hard against a good team, you’re in trouble.”

La Quinta scored first, but that was the last time the Aztecs led.

Parker scored nine first-quarter points, giving Tustin a 21-14 lead. Tustin opened up an 11-point lead in the second quarter on consecutive offensive possessions in which it got multiple offensive rebounds. La Quinta, though taller, managed only four offensive rebounds in the first half.

Before the half was out, Parker had 15. When he sat down with three fouls early in the second half, Middleton took over.

Middleton simply had his way around the basket. Move after move, the crowd, and seemingly the La Quinta defense, watched, enraptured.

“They’ve been doing this all along,” O’ Brien said. “They get in a little foul trouble, but it’s just because they’re so aggressive.”

Tustin led by as many as 19 in the second half, and only 13 consecutive points by Kenny Bennett kept La Quinta in the neighborhood. The Aztecs got no closer than 13.

Bennett finished with 19, and Scott Campbell had 14 for La Quinta.

It was not a night for close games.

In the third-place game:

Huntington Beach 65, El Modena 50--The Oilers, who lost to Tustin by one point in the semifinals, defeated the Vanguards behind Kevin Brazzel’s 20 points.

The Oiler gained an 11-point halftime lead and were never threatened. Jeff Flory added 14 for Huntington Beach. Jeff Steingraber hit mostly from the outside to lead El Modena with 16 points.

Pacifica 68, West Torrance 56--Sophomore guard Dustin Bonhan scored 20 points and teammate Alan Bruce 19 for the Mariners (4-1) in the consolation championship.

Kamal Sabeh also scored 13 for Pacifica.