STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Aaron Vazquez’s St. Peter’s debut is exactly what the doctor ordered.
The junior, who didn’t play last season because of transfer rules, fractured his elbow earlier this fall playing baseball and was sidelined for 10 weeks.
Vazquez missed the entire preseason and the Eagles’ first three games this season, including back-to-back losses to St. Joseph by-the-Sea and Monsignor Farrell.
Ironically, he received clearance to play prior to SP’s game against Moore Catholic — the school he transferred from during his freshman year.
When the Mavericks jumped to a seven-point lead late in the first quarter, the Eagles were in need of a spark and Vazquez had entered the game for the first time just before Moore built its early lead.
“I was itching to play,’’ admitted the 6-foot-4 forward. ”When I went to the doctor and he told me I could play, I was ecstatic.
“When I got into the game, I was just looking to give the team some energy and rebounding — I was looking forward to hitting the boards.’’
He hit the daily double.
Vazquez and senior teammate Nico Parlanti both recorded double-doubles and the Eagles staged a game-changing 21-0 run that bridged the first two quarters as they went on to a 66-41 CHSAA Staten Island win over the visiting Mavs Tuesday in New Brighton.
St. Peter’s power forward Aaron Vazquez, left, attempts to get off a shot against Moore Catholic’s Eenej Vinson (2) during. Tuesday’s CHSAA Staten Island encounter in New Brighton.(Advance/SILive.com | Charlie De Biase Jr.)
In addition to Parlanti (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Vazquez (11 points, 10 rebounds), St. Peter’s received 11 points from Victor Baez while Tyler Schoenberg and Sal Fragiglio teamed for another 15 markers. The Eagles, who owned a 44-22 advantage on the backboards, snapped their two-game losing streak to improve to 2-2 overall (1-2 CHSAASI).
“We know we have a lot of guys who can play and I’m very happy of the effort from guys who got opportunities and took advantage of them tonight,’’ said SP head coach Ryan Woods, who started sophomore Noah Scott and junior Sean Gannon for the first time this season. ”I’d say it was less shaking it up and more understanding that we’ve have some depth, guys who can play multiple positions and some size and we wanted to take advantage of that tonight.’’
The Mavericks (1-4, 0-2), who were led by Eenej Vinson (14 points) and Matt Gibbons (10 points), staged a 13-2 run midway through the opening period to grab control early.
Gibbons and Nick DeGrado combined for three treys in a 2:24 span and led 13-6 with under two minutes left.
But with Vazquez getting his feet wet, Fragiglio scored back-to-back interior buckets before Vazquez beat the first-quarter buzzer with a bucket off a pretty Parlanti feed to narrow SP’s deficit to a point at quarter’s end.
The Eagles, who took advantage of early foul trouble to Vinson and center Alexander Raphael, were only getting started.
SP’s man-to-man defense forced eight second-quarter turnovers. The Eagles capitalized with buckets from Ryan Freeman (layup), AJ Troia (trey), Schoenberg (two FTs) and Scott (layup) to take a 21-13 lead.
Vazquez then took centerstage with three straight interior buckets — two off offensive boards — as the Eagles lead ballooned to 27-13.
Moore Catholic guard Nick DeGrado, center, is guarded by St. Peter’s Nico Parlanti (1) while teammate Victor Baez, right, helps out during a CHSAA Staten Island game on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com | Charlie De Biase Jr.)
“I don’t think our hunger is any different, I just think we have a really young team and we have to give it time, be patient and trust each other,’’ said Parlanti. ”We came together instead of falling apart (after Moore took an early lead). They went on an early run, but we came right back.
“I loved how we played (during the 21-0 run),’’ the senior added. ”(Vazquez) came in and gave us a huge lift and we played very well together from there.’’
DeGrado broke the spell by hitting 1 of 2 free throws with 2:10 to go in the half, but when Schoenberg converted another rebound into a basket, the hosts owned a 29-14 lead at intermission.
“I thought we really dug in defensively (over the last 10 minutes of the first half),’’ said Woods. ”We got in passing lanes, we were physical and were rebounding. (Vazquez and Schoenberg) gave us a real boost in the paint and we just stayed the course defensively for the rest of the game.’’
When Parlanti scored 10 points in the first 4:31 of the second half, St. Peter’s upped its lead to 46-19 and it never looked back.
NOTES: Schoenberg chipped in with four rebounds for SP. Vinson and DeGrado paced Moore with five and four caroms, respectively … The Eagles were 9 for 12 from the free-throw line (Dennis Corson, Schoenberg and Gannon each 2 for 2); the Mavs were 12 for 22 (Vinson 8 for 10) … SP committed 17 turnovers, Moore 21 … Raphael (seven points, three rebounds) took the lone charge of the game.