Aguilar leads red-hot Mount; top scorer

What longtime Mount St. Michael coach Tom Fraher knew last year, the rest of the city is finding out now.

Peter Aguilar can score the basketball.

The Bronx native provided a glimpse last year, but the 6-foot-2 junior swingman has broken out in a big way this season, helping lead the Mountaineers to an 11-1 record.

“We tell him all the time, there’s going to be nights he’s not going to shoot it well,” Fraher said. “He always thinks he’s going to shoot 80 percent and he puts a lot of pressure on himself. True scorers find a way to get to the foul line, they find a way in transition. That’s what he’s been able to do.”

Aguilar has scored 30 or more points in seven of Mount’s 12 games, including a season-high 41 points against St. John’s Prep on Dec. 16.

“When I let the game come to me, my offense starts to get better and better,” Aguilar said.

His performance Saturday against Canarsie was a perfect example. His shot was off early, but Aguilar was lethal in transition, scoring 27 of his game-high 39 points in the second half as Mount rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to defeat the Chiefs, 79-53, at the Aviator Winter Clash in Brooklyn.

Aguilar was pulled with 3:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“When he’s not making his shots, he’s either going to get his points by getting to the basket or getting to the free throw line,” Mount senior forward Gary Acquah said. “That gets him going and that’s what we need from him.”

On Tuesday, Regis coach Kevin Cullen focused on trying to stop Aguilar, going with a box-and-1 defense. Aguilar responded with 20 of his game-high 30 points in the first half as the Mountaineers cruised to a 79-51 victory, his team’s 10th straight.

“I don’t care how much I score,” Aguilar said. “It’s just what I do during the game to help my team get better.”