Vernon claims Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex boys basketball title behind Alex Fessel's career day
HACKETTSTOWN — Alex Fessel didn't want to put down the trophy. Long after the court had cleared following the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex boys basketball final, the Vernon junior was still clutching the shiny silver plate he'd been given as the tournament MVP.
Fessel scored a career-best 29 points to lead the upstart Vikings past Hunterdon Central, 47-42, on Friday night at Centenary University. It is the first HWS championship for fifth-seeded Vernon.
Fessel and Vikings seniors Dhamir Morfe-Chess and Ben Jurewicz insisted the seeds of the title were planted years ago. Connor Healy took over as Vernon head coach when the current seniors were in eighth grade. Jurewicz and Fessel recalled meeting him when they were still in middle school.
"He said, 'This is when it starts. We're going to change the culture,'" Jurewicz recalled. "But if you told me my freshman year we'd be standing here as HWS champs, I would not have believed you."
Vernon set a school record with 20 wins last winter. But the Vikings didn't make it past Hackettstown in a HWS semifinal.
Fessel would not let Vernon go down again.
Behind 31-23 with 3:26 left in the third quarter, the Vikings began to assert themselves. Fessel sank a runner, then three 3-pointers over the final 2:52 to first tie and then give Vernon a lead it would not relinquish – all in front of the students, who leaped to their feet each time.
Jurewicz had seven of his 10 points in the third quarter, as Vernon came from behind. He had also hit a layup in the final seconds on Feb. 10 to send the Vikings past top-seeded Phillipsburg into the final.
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"Last year, we were in a position to win it and we didn't. I didn't want to feel that again," said Fessel, who had 18 second-half points. "It's indescribable. I can't even put into words what it feels like to win this for my team, for my school, for the people who showed up."
Senior guard Landyn Marsh had a team-high 17 for Hunterdon Central, and was named to the All-Tournament Team alongside teammate Matt Schwartz, Morfe-Cless and Jurewicz. Matt Scerbo represented Phillipsburg, and Francis Demvir was Delaware Valley's representative.
Hunterdon Central had won HWS in 2020 and 2017, and 10 titles before Sparta joined the tournament. The third-seeded Red Devils had knocked off No. 2 Delaware Valley by four points in a semifinal.
"We played our hardest out there, but it wasn't enough. It's simple as that," Marsh said, noting Hunterdon Central's many turnovers. "We weren't taking care of the ball. I'm glad I have (the All-Tournament trophy) but I wanted to win the game more than anything."
These teams have HWS history. Vernon eliminated Hunterdon Central in a quarterfinal last winter, as well as in overtime in a semifinal in 2011. The Red Devils had won a second-round game against the Vikings in 2022, and a first-round game in 2020.
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But all of that was forgotten as the Vernon players tasted their medals on Friday night.
"My seventh-grade year, (Coach Healy) was expecting so much. I thought, 'Man, is he crazy,'" Fessel said. "But I realized how much he cares about me and my teammates, and the whole school. It's not just basketball. He's like family to me."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ boys basketball: Vernon Hunterdon Central HWS final
