Amaral Shines for Bolsa Grande

Omar Amaral covets a challenge.

When the Bolsa Grande guard learned the Matadors would play then-No. 3 Villa Park in December in the opening round of the Holiday Classic, Amaral was excited, not intimidated.

Sure, Bolsa Grande was going to be a heavy underdog, but Amaral just wanted a chance to lead his team to the upset. He proceeded to drop 31 points on the Spartans in a loss and backed up that performance by scoring 46 against Servite and 31 against Brea Olinda.

Afterward, Villa Park boys’ basketball Coach Kevin Reynolds told Bolsa Grande Coach Steve Snyder he was glad the Matador standout no longer played for Santa Ana Valley, where he attended school as a freshman; Reynolds couldn’t bear the thought of facing Amaral twice in Century League play.

The trouble for Amaral is that his Bolsa Grande team is as bad as he is good. The Matadors (3-12, 1-0), the defending Garden Grove League champions, have fallen a long way in a short time following the graduation of standouts Jon James and Will Montgomery.

The 5-foot-10 Amaral, a solid contributor last season, has stepped to the fore for Bolsa Grande, but his supporting cast hasn’t been able to hold up its end. The result has been a number of lopsided losses in which Amaral comes up big but Bolsa Grande falls way short.

“I’m not used to losing,” said Amaral, who plays both guard positions. “I won 20 games as a freshman [on the Santa Ana Valley freshman team] and 24 games as a sophomore. Now, to win just three, it’s pretty frustrating. But we just have to keep it together. Eventually, we’ll get some wins.”

Amaral is averaging 28.5 points and shooting 43% from behind the three-point line. His coach said the junior’s potential is limitless.

“He drives to the basket well, he can create his own shot, he can post up,” Snyder said. “And he never seems to get tired.”

Snyder said the only things Amaral needs to work on are his defensive intensity and his maturity. Amaral was ejected from a game early in the season for receiving two technical fouls before the end of the first quarter.

“Because he’s so competitive, he can get frustrated at times if we’re not winning,” Snyder said. “And that has to do with him being a junior. He’ll develop a little more maturity with age and become mentally tough.”

Amaral said he hopes to lead the Matadors to another league title, even though they have struggled over the first half of the season.

“We have a chance if we play hard every game and we give it our best effort,” Amaral said. “We just need to play hard against Pacifica and Los Amigos--the two big teams in league.”

COACHING MILESTONES

Sonora Coach Mike Murphy registered his 200th victory Dec. 14 in the quarterfinals of the North Orange County tournament when the Raiders defeated Long Beach Wilson, 62-38. Sonora went on to win the tournament with victories over Downey in the semifinals and Valencia in the championship. . . . Valencia Coach Dean Yoshimura won his 100th game Dec. 28 when the Tigers beat Loara, 53-47, in the semifinals of the Orange Holiday Classic. Valencia lost to Aliso Niguel in the championship game.

DOUBLE DRIBBLES

Nineteen county teams have already qualified for Southern Section playoffs by virtue of the 11-win rule. . . . Sunny Hills became the first Orange County team to play a game in 2001 when the Lancers lost to Hempstead (N.Y.) High, 58-32, Jan 1. The game, originally scheduled for Dec. 30, was postponed because of snow. . . . Mater Dei’s 81-40 victory over Foothill last Wednesday ended a streak of nine games against nine teams from different states. The Monarchs (14-2) went 7-2 over that stretch, losing to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy and Louisville (Ky.) Ballard. Mater Dei rose as high as No. 3 nationally during the run, according to USA Today’s rankings, but fell to No. 17 in the most recent poll.

LOOKING AHEAD

League play starts in earnest this week with several intriguing matchups. San Clemente plays at Capistrano Valley Wednesday in a battle between teams that hope to challenge El Toro for the South Coast League title.

On Friday, Mater Dei plays at Santa Margarita in a showdown between the top two teams in the Serra League--and the county.

If you have an item or idea for the high school boys’ basketball report, you can call us at (714) 966-7826 or e-mail us at ben.bolch@latimes.com

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BOYS’ BASKETBALL TOP 10

Orange County Sportwriters’ Poll

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Pos. School League Rec Pts 1. Mater Dei (1) Serra 14-2 60 2. Santa Margarita (2) Serra 15-1 52 3. El Toro (3) South Coast 15-1 50 4. Villa Park (5) Century 12-3 37 5. Ocean View (4) Golden West 14-2 35 6. Woodbridge (6) Sea View 12-4 25 7. Capistrano Valley (8) South Coast 13-2 24 8. Newport Harbor (7) Sea View 14-3 17 9. El Dorado (9) Empire 14-2 12 10. San Clemente (NR) South Coast 11-2 10

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*Last week’s ranking in parentheses

Others: Sonora (14-3) 8