Vikings lose in H/W/S semifinals

A great run for the Vernon Township High School boys basketball team came to an end Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11 as the sixth-seeded Vikings bowed to second-seeded Hackettstown in the semifinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament at Warren Hills High in Washington Township.

The setback also snapped a 12-game winning streak for Vernon (18-3), which lost for the first time since Jan. 7.

Hackettstown (14-6) will meet fifth-seeded Sparta for the tri-county championship at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at Centenary University in Hackettstown.

Vernon last reached the semis in 2017, when it bowed to Delaware Valley. The team was looking to play in its first county final since losing to North Hunterdon, 75-72, in two overtimes in 2011.

The Vikings have never won the H/W/S Tournament, which began in the 2009-10 season.

Against Hackettstown, Vernon fell behind, 16-7, but closed to 29-21 at the half. Hackettstown then used a 31-23 second-half showing to maintain control.

Darien Santos and Andrew Carida each had 18 points to lead the Tigers.

Despite the loss, this has been a very successful season for Vernon, under the guidance of head coach Connor Healy.

The Vikings captured their first divisional championship in 16 years, clinching the Colonial Division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) with a perfect 9-0 mark with one game remaining.

Vernon is the only NJAC team among 37 schools that is undefeated in divisional play. It was looking to complete a perfect season when it played host to Sussex Tech on Monday, Feb. 13.

On Thursday, Feb. 9, Vernon scored a 51-45 victory over Jefferson at home to mark the first time it had defeated its Morris County foe since 2012.

Alex Fessel led the way with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists followed by EJ Mack (15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, two steals), Robert Nathan (14 points, five rebounds), Elijah Gaskin (three points, two rebounds) and Jayden McCann (three points, three assists, three steals, two rebounds).

Fessel, a sophomore guard, averages 15.5 points to lead the Vikings, followed by Mack (13.6 points per game), Ben Jurewicz (8.1 points per game), McCann (6.5 points per game), Nathan (5.6 points per game) and Gaskin (5.1 points per game).

Girls basketball

The Vikings girls team’s bid for a fifth straight victory fell short on Saturday in a 45-35 loss to Wallkill Valley in a regular-season game at home.

Vernon (14-7) was led by Danica Williams (11 points), Monica Curry (nine points), Grace Dobrzynski (eight points), Jonnah Castillo (four points), Jessica LeFort (two points) and Olivia Meneses (one point).

The team is scheduled to play host to Veritas Christian at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 in its regular-season finale.