Tustin Takes Care of Santa Margarita : Division II-A: Tillers win semifinal, 62-42, to get return shot against Dominguez.

Tustin center David Lalazarian could finally say out loud what he and his teammates have been thinking for a year.

“I want Dominguez,” Lalazarian said. “We’ve wanted them since last season. We want them again.”

Tustin got Dominguez by beating, stomping and generally manhandling Santa Margarita, 62-42, Tuesday in the Southern Section Division II-A semifinals at Edison High.

The top-seeded Tillers got second-seeded Dominguez by creating mayhem with one let-me-get-in-your-face half of basketball.

They got Dominguez by doing what they do best--handing the ball to point guard Doug Gottlieb and letting him deal.

Oh yeah, they got Dominguez, all right. A team that beat Inglewood, 83-74, Tuesday and a team that humiliated the Tillers in the semifinals a year ago.

They got them 1 p.m. Saturday in The Pond of Anaheim for the section championship.

“All of us wanted them,” Lalazarian said. “Dominguez just kicked our butts last year. The only thing I remember from that game is we were down 19-2.”

And lost, 70-35.

“We’ve wanted this rematch,” Coach Andy Ground said. “We are not the same team.”

The Tillers’ whirlwind appearance Tuesday left little doubt of that. By the time the first half ended, Tustin led, 38-16, and had dusted off a seat in the final. The second half merely killed some time in their 19th consecutive victory.

Nothing Santa Margarita (26-3) did worked.

The Eagles opened the game in a 2-3 zone. Tustin scored the first nine points. Santa Margarita switched to a man to man. Tustin finished the half with a 14-2 run.

“We knew they would open in a zone and we were prepared,” Ground said. “When they went to man, we knew they couldn’t guard David one on one.”

Lalazarian scored 26 points, 18 in the first half. He hit four consecutive shots in the first quarter as Tustin built a 13-4 lead.

“You get David a dunk on a fastbreak and it really gets him into it,” Gottlieb said.

Lalazarian took a pass from Gottlieb early in the first quarter and swooped in for a one-handed slam. He finished 10 of 13 from the field with 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. He was into it.

In the second quarter, Lalazarian stole a pass, hit Gottlieb, then took the return pass for another dunk.

“It was over right there,” Lalazarian said. “I knew then they weren’t going to come back.”

Gottlieb was happy to merely pull the strings. He had 10 assists, nine in the first half. He also scored 15 points.

He had three points and three assists in the first four minutes, which gave the Tillers a 9-0 lead.

Santa Margarita was overwhelmed offensively from the start. The Eagles turned the ball over their first three possessions, then missed four consecutive shots.

They never recovered. Center Allen Krist provided some sporadic breaks in Tustin’s runs, with eight of his 14 points in the first half. The Eagles managed to play Tustin even in the second half.

By then, the Tillers had Dominguez on their minds.