Roche and Fletcher Take Turns Leading Tustin

Tustin’s Derek Roche started it and Maurice Fletcher finished what turned into an 86-57 rout of Whittier La Serna in the first round of the Southern Section Division II-AA boys’ basketball playoffs.

Roche scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half, and Fletcher scored 23 of his game-high 30 in the second half Friday night at Tustin High School as the Tillers (20-7) advanced to face Cerritos Gahr Tuesday in the second round.

La Serna (13-12) stayed close early, patiently working its offense to get Tustin’s Jentry Moore and Fletcher in early foul trouble while staying within 18-12 after one quarter.

Then Tustin Coach Tom McCluskey changed tactics, switching to a 1-3-1 trapping zone defense that jump-started the Tillers.

Roche scored nine in the quarter, and his layup with 1 minute 30 seconds remaining in the half gave Tustin a 37-21 lead.

“We needed to speed the game up,” McCluskey said. “Coming in, we thought they would be deliberate and we were concerned early.”

The pressure worked, and Fletcher ran wild in the second half. Fletcher made 10 of 14 shots, grabbed six rebounds and had three three-pointers in the half.

Tab Reid and Rod Scheureman each had eight points for Tustin.