Payback Time : Santa Margarita’s Krist Says He’ll Atone for Last Year’s Loss

Allen Krist has a debt to repay.

An IOU he made out to himself and his Santa Margarita teammates.

It has been almost a year since the Eagles were crushed by Tustin, 62-42, in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division II-A playoffs. Krist can’t forget being humbled and outscored, 26-14, by Tustin standout David Lalazarian and how “they just kicked our butts all game.”

Santa Margarita won’t get another chance at Tustin this year. The Eagles (20-6) are in the Division II-AA playoffs and at 7:30 tonight have a quarterfinal game against Santa Barbara (20-7) at El Toro High.

But ever since Krist, a 6-foot-8 senior center, and the team’s other eight seniors--”my best friends”--were freshmen, they have talked about winning a section title in their final year.

“I don’t see another team we can’t beat,” said Krist, assuming fourth-seeded Santa Margarita can win tonight. “We had a difficult preseason schedule, and I think our overall record is a little deceiving. I still don’t think we’ve reached our peak yet.

“We were a little down coming into the playoffs, but I think we have righted ourselves. We have great depth with nine seniors. We are definitely a team. I hope our best ball is still in front of us.”

Krist doesn’t want to think past today, but he can’t help but contemplate one last matchup against Woodbridge star Chris Burgess. If the Sea View League rivals meet, it would be in the March 2 division final at the Pond of Anaheim.

“Wouldn’t that be great,” Krist said.

Burgess, a junior and the county’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, is the standard to which Krist has been compared the last two seasons. They have had their share of spirited duels.

“I’m sure Chris will go to the NBA someday,” Krist said. “I’m glad I can say I could hold my own against him in high school. He is such an all-around player offensively. No one tendency. You can guard him close on the outside, but he still gets his shot off. He has a quick release for a 6-10 guy. And he’s even more difficult inside.”

Krist is proud of Santa Margarita having a 3-1 edge on Woodbridge the last two seasons, the only loss being a double-overtime defeat Jan. 26 at Woodbridge.

“It’s been a great rivalry, and I’d say he got the better of me,” Krist said. “But I did what I had to do to keep our team in the game.”

Woodbridge Coach John Halagan said he has so enjoyed the battles between Krist and Burgess that he pulls out game tapes again and again.

“The thing that’s impressive about Allen,” Halagan said, “is you can tell from his demeanor he is a very unselfish player who wants the best for his team like Chris. When they lock horns, it’s not the personal matchup; there’s usually a lot on line. And both are fine players, so it adds spice. In our last game they had a couple exchanges above the rim, which you don’t see that often in high school.

“Allen is a fine gentleman and a great competitor. He always plays within himself. Not that he has a lot of limitations, but you never see him out of control. He stays on an even keel, which augments his play. In the games against us, he’s had opportunities to be frustrated guarding Chris. But he’s put up [good] numbers too.”

His “good numbers” have been better this season. Last season, Krist averaged 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds, earning him league MVP honors and a place on The Times’ all-county second team. Currently, Krist is averaging 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds.

His is not a double-pump, shake-and-juke, windmill-jam style of play. Krist is more mechanic than artist. The bottom line? He’s effective.

“He is a model of consistency,” Santa Margarita Coach Jerry DeBusk said. “He started averaging 20 points and stayed there the whole year. He’s been shooting 59% from the field all year. He hasn’t fluctuated.

“I would put him among the top five to six big men in the county. He belongs up there with Burgess, [Eric] Chenowith, [Josh] Greer and Lalazarian.”

Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris, who has spent the last two years working on ways to defend Krist, is another admirer. “You cannot relax on him,” Orris said. “He’s not quite as dominant or flashy as Burgess, but I think a lot more consistent in how hard he’s worked at both offense and defense.”

Krist settled on a college in November; he will attend Southern Methodist.

“I was very intrigued with the school,” he said. “It seemed like a program that will turn around. I wanted to get [my college decision] out of the way and concentrate on the season. I didn’t know if I’d get any better offers.”

But there’s still that IOU.

“If we can get to the semis,” Krist said, “I think we can win it all.”