Trailblazers Fall to Framingham State, 83-59

By Jeffrey PuleriMCLA Sports Info
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The visiting Framingham State Rams placed four players in double figures as they handled the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Trailblazers, 83-59, Thursday evening. With the win, the Rams improve to 10-5 overall and move to 3-2 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Trailblazers dropped their fifth straight game in falling to 8-9 overall, 0-4 in the conference.

Madeleine Park led Framingham with game-highs of 21 points and nine rebounds. Kristen Hoffman was outstanding collecting 20 points, six assists and five steals. Other Rams in double figures were Kia Minor with 12 points and Samantha Irvine with 10.
 
Framingham started quickly as they scored the opening eight points of the game before MCLA got on the board. After the Trailblazers Lucy Tremblay converted a 3-pointer to make it 13-7 in favor of Framingham, the Rams used a 12-2 run ignited by a Kristen Hoffman lay-up and a Madeleine Park 3-pointer, giving the visitors a 25-9 lead, their largest of the half.
 
MCLA outscored Framingham 16-8 over the next six minutes to cut the margin to 33-25, however, Framingham scored the final six points of the half to take a 39-25 lead at the break.
 
The Rams wouldn't let up in the second half. With the score at 43-29 early in the half, the Rams went on a 8-0 run led by Park and Hoffman, who tallied all eight points. The lead grew to as many as 28 points at 68-40 before settling on the final score.
 
The Trailblazers shot just 32 percent from the floor and committed 20 turnovers.
 
MCLA will return to action on Saturday looking to rebound against Fitchburg State at 1 p.m.
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Armed North Adams Man Arrested Following Domestic Standoff

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Matthew Parker, a 44-year-old North Adams man, is set to face multiple counts of attempted murder and weapons charges in Northern Berkshire District Court on Friday morning following an hours-long, armed standoff at a Houghton Street home.

The defendant is being arraigned for:

  • Domestic Assault and Battery
  • Assault with the Intent to Murder (3 counts)
  • Carrying a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol (3 counts)
  • Possession of a hi-capacity firearm (4 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a hi-capacity firearm (2 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a firearm (6 counts)

According to a report, on June 10, at approximately 8:42 p.m., officers responded to 365 Houghton St. following a report of a domestic assault and battery. The caller said she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation.

She said her husband was intoxicated, making suicidal statements about shooting himself, and had access to both a shotgun and a pistol.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with both the caller and Parker. During the encounter, Parker threatened to shoot officers before retreating into the home and refusing to exit.

Officers believed that Parker was armed.

To ensure public safety, police established a perimeter around the home and requested assistance from the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT) and North Adams Police crisis negotiators. The Brien Center was also contacted and promptly provided an emergency mental health clinician to assist with the incident.

Special Response Team personnel deployed drones to monitor the residence and provide aerial illumination. During the operation, officers saw Parker exit the house carrying a rifle. He pointed it at the drones, stated a report. Parker subsequently pointed the rifle toward several officers positioned behind their cruisers. After officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Parker returned inside the residence.

Trained crisis negotiators maintained communication with Parker for several hours in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. At approximately 2 a.m., Parker ceased communication with negotiators.

Drone operators later observed Parker unconscious in a recliner on the first floor of the residence, with a rifle and shotgun on the floor nearby.

Members of the Berkshire County SRT then executed a coordinated operation. Diversionary devices were deployed through a window while an entry team simultaneously entered the home, secured the firearms, and took the defendant into custody.

A search warrant was executed after Parker was in custody. North Adams Police seized four shotguns, six rifles, two handguns, and thousands or rounds of ammunition from the home.

During the operation, one SRT member sustained a minor injury related to a less-lethal bean bag deployment. Parker also sustained non-life threatening injuries during the arrest and was transported to Berkshire Medical Center for medical evaluation.

"We thank the community for its patience and cooperation throughout this incident, particularly residents in the affected area who complied with temporary shelter-in-place requests," Police Chief Mark Bailey said.  "The North Adams Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the agencies that provided mutual aid and assisted by handling calls for service during this incident. We are especially grateful to the Berkshire County Special Response Team for its professional and decisive response, the Brien Center for the rapid deployment of a mental health clinician, and our crisis negotiators whose efforts helped maintain dialogue and contributed significantly to the safe resolution of this incident."

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