Trailblazers Hold On to Beat Worcester State, 78-75

By Jeffrey PuleriMCLA Sports Info
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts men's basketball team had a double-digit lead late in the second half, but then had to hang on late as they defeated Worcester State, 78-75. 

With the win, the Trailblazers' Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference record improves to 7-1, with MCLA heading into a key matchup with Westfield State Tuesday night. The Lancers even their record at 10-10 overall, and fall to 4-5 in league play.
 
MCLA (11-10, 7-1) held the lead much of the night and led 69-58 with just 1:46 left to play following a Richard Johnson putback.  Worcester State would not go quietly however, as Alex Lopez quickly answered with a layup and Kyle Ferreira knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 69-62 with 1:19 remaining.
 
Johnson made a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to nine, but Lancer forward Dane Jobst drilled a 3-pointer to close the gap to 71-65.  MCLA's Ruben DelRosario knocked down three out of four free throws in the next two possessions to push the Trailblazer lead to 74-65 in what seemed to be an insurmountable deficit for the Lancers.
 
A Lopez triple sliced the lead to 77-71 with 40 seconds left and then MCLA helped the cause by missing a pair of free throws. Jobst added two from the strip to pull within four at 77-73 with just 23 seconds left.
 
After MCLA made one of two from the line, Lancer Robert Hunter converted a layup and was fouled, making it 78-75. He missed the free throw, but the Lancers got the rebound as it caromed out of bounds setting up one last opportunity. The MCLA defense stepped up and Lopez missed a last-second 3-pointer, giving the Trailblazers the victory.
 
John Jones was spectacular for MCLA, piling up 21 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double. Paul Maurice added 12 points for MCLA while Bilal Shabazz added 10.
 
The MCLA win sets up a huge showdown with rival Westfield State on Tuesday night at 7:30.
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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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