ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Boys’ Roundup : Middleton Scores 25 as Tustin Holds On

Tustin High School showed why it has one of the top teams in Orange County, defeating Foothill, 61-51, in a nonleague game Wednesday night at Foothill.

The Tillers (11-2) led the entire game but could only put the game out of reach when forward Rog Middleton scored on a vicious slam dunk to put Tustin ahead, 53-47, with 5:34 remaining.

Middleton, the county’s leading scorer, scored a game-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds. The Tillers opened up a 29-17 lead midway through the second quarter, only to have Foothill cut the lead at halftime, 33-29, on two consecutive baseline jumpers by Rusty Van Cleave.

The Knights (7-7) were led by guard Doug Kopcha, who had 16 points.

Tustin’s quickness prevailed the entire game, as the Tillers forced 12 Knight turnovers and converted on 10 of them for baskets.

“This is one of the best rivalries around,” said Tustin Coach Tim O’Brien. “Foothill games are always emotional, but the difference tonight was our quickness and the ability to be consistent with our outside jump shots.”

The teams meet again Friday night at Tustin.

In other games:

Magnolia 78, Rancho Alamitos 76--Victor Banuelos grabbed a loose ball and made an eight-foot shot with four seconds to play to lift the Sentinels at Rancho Alamitos. The Vaqueros’ Greg Paquette rebounded a missed shot but lost possession of the ball when he fell to the floor. Banuelos recovered and scored.

Magnolia had built a 26-12 lead in the first quarter and led by as many as 17 points in the second period, but the Vaqueros (6-6) came back behind Paquette (25 points), Randy Morales (20) and Mark Flores (15). Mark Lyon scored 25 points for Magnolia (9-2), Mike Goff added 23 points, and Banuelos finished with 20.

Long Beach Poly 59, Ocean View 57--Ricky Bulter’s shot from half court bounced off the rim at the buzzer, and the Seahawks, ranked second in Orange County, lost to the Jackrabbits at Ocean View. The Seahawks had trailed by six points with two minutes remaining, but Mike Frohn and Jimmy Anderson each scored to bring Ocean View to within two, 59-57.

Keith Crawford scored 15 points to lead Long Beach Poly. Butler scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Desi Hazely scored 10 points for the Seahawks (10-2).

Laguna Hills 62, San Clemente 59 (OT)--Chris Sheff made a free throw with 50 seconds left to give the Hawks a 60-59 lead, and Rick Kawada made a layup at the buzzer to help Laguna Hills win at home.

Mike Smedes led the Hawks (5-8) with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Sheff finished with 15 points, and Pete Colburn had 13 points. Mark Broccardo scored 20 points, and Dan McKeown added 14 for the Tritons (4-10).

Capistrano Valley 75, Nogales 72--It was battle of guards as Nogales’ Faris Manning scored 31 points and Capistrano Valley’s Scott McCullough scored 23 in the high-scoring game at La Puente.

Todd Marinovich and Charles Lockard each scored 14 points for Capistrano Valley (8-5). The Cougars meet top-ranked Mater Dei at 7:30 Saturday night in the Hutton Sports Center.

Corona del Mar 59, Irvine 45--Senior guard Darren Morris scored 22 points and had 6 steals to lead the Sea Kings at Irvine High. Markus Muller-Stach added 16 points, and Chris Hook had 13 points and 7 steals for Corona del Mar (11-4). Mike Herring scored 17 points for the Vaqueros.

Newport Harbor 53, Orange 41--Jim Geerlings scored 15 and John Alstorm added 12 to lead the Sailors to the nonleague victory at Orange. The Panthers (5-8) scored 20 of their points in the final quarter.

Millikan 72, Huntington Beach 44--The Rams outscored the Oilers, 16-1, during one stretch of the fourth period at Huntington Beach. Millikan was led by senior forward Shawn Williams, who scored 28 points, and Ken Jarvis, who had 14 points. Jeff Flory, a senior guard, scored 20 points for the Oilers.

Canyon 47, Anaheim 41--Randy Simpson scored 18 points and David Jones added 10 to help the Comanches at Anaheim. Canyon (4-6) made 13 of 17 free throws, and Anaheim (2-10) made only 9 of 18, including 4 of 10 in the final quarter.

Valencia 67, Los Amigos 58--Dennis Burbank scored 21 points to lead the Tigers. Valencia improves to 10-3. Los Amigos (9-6) was led by Gene Altamirano, who scored 20 points.

Artesia 64, Savanna 52--John Farmer led Artesia (7-4) with 34 points. Mike Campbell led the Rebels (2-9) with 17 points at Savanna.

University 74, Santa Ana Valley 62--Eric Olin led the Trojans (10-4) with 26 points and Lasse Glassen added 22 points and 18 rebounds at University.

Saddleback 81, Laguna Beach 57--Gylan Dottin led the Roadrunners (4-7) with 20 points and 19 rebounds. Scott Herdman led the Artists (4-8) with 25 points at Laguna Beach.

Long Beach Wilson 83, Bolsa Grande 69--Don Brotz scored 29 points to lead Long Beach Wilson at home. Sonny Reynolds and Ray West added 14 points each for Long Beach Wilson (11-4).

Estancia 70, Costa Mesa 45--Steve Barkley led the Eagles (5-8) with 18 points, 12 coming in the third quarter. Jason Ashley added 10 rebounds and 12 points. Paul Kos led the Mustangs (3-7) with 12 points.