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Roche and Fletcher Take Turns Leading Tustin

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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