Peter Aguilar has forged a reputation as one of the best scorers in New York City. But in a critical league game against defending CHSAA Class A intersectional champion Archbishop Stepinac Tuesday afternoon, the senior swingman helped Mount St. Michael remain undefeated because of what he did on the other end of the court.
“He did a great job on defense…he came up with two big defensive possessions,” Stepinac coach Tim Philp said. “He’s a very good player. He keeps you honest.”
With Mount leading 60-56, Aguilar hedged out perfectly and blocked a shot and then scored on a putback on the other end with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter. Aguilar, who is nicknamed Trey, then got a steal on Stepinac’s next possession and went 1-of-2 from the foul line.
“I had to do what I had to do to win the game,” Aguilar said. “I felt my team needed that block, the steal and the basket so I decided to get that.”
Aguilar, who has drawn interest from Manhattan, Fordham and Canisius, also did plenty offensively, scoring a game-high 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line.
“Peter’s one of the best players in the city. The kid’s a flat-out scorer, he’s relentless, he works very hard and everything he gets he deserves because the kid’s a gym rat,” Mount coach Tom Fraher said. “He wants the ball in big spots, we try to post him up, get him off of curls, and try to go high-low with him. I want the ball in his hands and late I want the ball in his hands because I know he’s a terrific free throw shooter.”
Aguilar scored 15 points in the first half, including a baseline jumper that cut the Mountaineers deficit to 34-31 at the break. He scored in a variety of ways, on slashes to the basket, on long-distance and mid-range jumpers and from the foul line. His leaner with 5:10 left in the third quarter tied the score at 39 and he scored nine more points in the fourth quarter as Mount improved to 11-0.
“I’m always amazed,” Mount junior point guard Malik Gill said of Aguilar. “Sometimes it looks like he has 15 points, 12 points and at the end of the game he has like 35 points at the end of every game. He’s the best scorer I’ve ever played with in my life.”