NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Hayden Bird came off the bench to score a career best 31 points to lead the MCLA men's basketball team to its seventh straight win as the Trailblazers upended the Salem State Vikings 98-84 Thursday evening in MASCAC action.
The Trailblazers are off to their best conference start since the 2010-11 season as they improve to 10-4 overall and remain atop the MASCAC at 3-0.
Salem State falls to 1-14 overall and is now 0-3.
This first half was back and forth, but Drury High graduate Bird took over about midway through the half. He scored 19 of his 31 points in the opening half to lead the Trailblazers to a 48-43 advantage at the break. MCLA never trailed in the second half as they immediately increased the lead to double digits at 55-45. Salem cut it to five points, but once again MCLA answered. With the score at 55-50, MCLA used a 12-5 spurt to take command at 67-55.
The teams went back and forth again, but eventually Salem would close to within 76-70 on a Hakeem Animashaun bucket with 9:29 left. They got within five after trading baskets, but Patrick Bulger's triple made it 78-73. From there, MCLA finished off the Vikings with a 7-2 spurt to get back to a double digit advantage. From there, MCLA was never threatened and earned their seventh straight win.
Bird was 9-for-11 shooting which included an impressive 6-for-7 effort from beyond the arc. Ki-Shawn Monroe filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. Noah Yearsley and Chris Becker added 11 and 10 points respectively.
MCLA was impressive shooting the basketball as they converted on a 47% clip. The Trailblazers were on fire from beyond the arc however as they went 12-22 from three point range.
Salem was led by Animashaun's 18 points and 15 rebounds. He did most of his damage from the FT line going 10-12. Alex De La Rosa scored 17 points while Jaden Castillo added 16. Chris MacDonald chipped in with 14 while Bulger added 10.
The Vikings shot 46% in defeat.
MCLA will travel to Framingham State on Saturday while the Vikings take on Worcester State.
Women's Basketball
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Salem State's Liz Zaiter scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Vikings to a 59-40 win over MCLA.
Kylah Langston scored 16 points, and Hannah Mazzeo had 15 rebounds for the Trailblazers.
MCLA (2-11, 0-3) goes to Framingham State on Saturday.
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North Adams School Officials See Plans for Brayton Hill Improvements
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The dangerous entrance to the Northern Berkshire Family YMCA is going to be reconstructed to make it safer for children walking to school.
The $622,000 project is part of the state Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School initiative and is being funded through the Transportation Improvement Program.
It will include revamping the steep entrance on the west side of Brayton School and the YMCA and adding in sidewalks and other improvements.
The public schools outreach coordinator Emily Schiavoni said the school district and Northern Berkshire Community Coalition have been partners in the program since 2016. The two entities applied in 2019 to the Safe Routes to Schools program for Brayton and were accepted.
The $622,000 project is part of the state Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School initiative and is being funded through the Transportation Improvement Program.
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City Councilor Jason LaForest had sent Emily Bryant a text with clapping hands and the hashtag "hottie" in 2019. Bryant, who is married, posted the message and her response (which started with "Dude, don't go there ...") to the North Adams Chat group.
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Cathleen King was a founder of the high school's alternative education program, the E3 Academy, in 2012. She's spent the last few years in Salem when her husband took a position of Salem State University.
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The superintendent said the district leadership team was making plans on how to implement in-person learning and where to strategically allocate resources. click for more
The 10-foot diameter precast tubs will be arranged in an arc between Buildings 19 and 25, just east of Joe's Field, and are designed to resonant with sound. They're the creation of artist Taryn Simon, whose "A Cold Hole and Assembled Audience" made a splash at the museum in 2018.
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