NBSA, Saboteurs Win Fall League Titles

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Northern Berkshire Sports Academy and the Saboteurs Sunday took home the A and B Division titles in the NBSA Fall Basketball League.
 
Chris Brown scored the final four points of the game at the foul line to give NBSA a 71-68 win over Giardina and Bressett PC in the A Division final at Drury High School.
 
Brown, who went 12-for-13 at the line in the game, finished with a team-high 28 points in the win.
 
Scott McGuire scored 15 points, including 11 in the first half, when NBSA built a 41-37 lead.
 
It then opened the second half on a 12-4 run that ended in a Khalil Paul 3-pointer to push the lead to 53-41.
 
But Hayden Bird scored in the post to stop that run and hit back-to-back 3s in a 10-0 run that got Giardina and Bressett within two at 53-51.
 
Neither team led by more than 5 points the rest of the way.
 
Giardina and Bresett took a 67-65 lead with 1:20 left on a 3-pointer from Bird (game-high 31 points).
 
But Brown got to the line on NBSA’s next possession and tied the game. 
 
Bird hit a free throw with 50.9 seconds on the clock to give Giardina and Bressett its last lead at 68-67.
 
Brown was fouled in transition with 44 ticks remaining and sank a pair at the line and made two more with 15 seconds on the clock to make it a three-point margin.
 
Giardina and Bresset’s 3-point try with 2 seconds left hit the front of the rim, and NBSA came away with the “W.”
 
Russell Beauchamp scored 14 for NBSA. Reece Racette had 11 for Giardina and Bressett.
 
In the B Final, the Sabs took control with a 19-0 run to open the second half en route to a 66-46 win over Adelson and Company.
 
Austin Mendel got things started with a putback to give his team a 34-27 lead, and Nick Waterman scored six straight in the run, which ended with the Saboteurs ahead, 51-27.
 
Dave Wellington hit a 3-pointer at about the 10-minute mark to give the Saboteurs their biggest lead at 61-33.
 
Wellington finished with 13 points. Waterman scored a team-high 14 and grabbed four rebounds. Casey Mecywor hit three 3-pointers for nine points.
 
Adelson got 12 points apiece from Colin Rousseau and Jon Gregory. Nick Lewis scored 10. Nine of Adelson’s 15 field goals came from behind the 3-point arc.
 
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Community Hero: Noelle Howland

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Noelle Howland is committed to keeping alive the late Pittsfield ACO Eleanor Sonsini's mission of helping animals ... albeit farther north in North Adams.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — No Paws Left Behind Executive Director Noelle Howland has been selected as the November Community Hero of the Month. 
 
The Community Hero of the Month series honors individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact in their community. The series sponsor, Haddad Auto, has extended this initiative for one more month.
 
Howland breathed new life into the mission of the former Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter, which closed in August 2023. 
 
The shelter in Pittsfield operated under the mission established by Eleanor Sonsini, a local animal rights activist and longtime animal control officer in Pittsfield, to be a no-kill shelter committed to finding surrendered and abandoned pets new forever homes. 
 
Howland's love for animals, dedication to their well-being, and expertise in animal behavior and training and shelter management brought this mission to new heights at No Paws Left Behind, a new shelter for dogs located at 69 Hodges Cross Road. 
 
"I want people to understand that I know it's hard to surrender. So, my biggest thing is [making sure] people know that, of course, we're not judging you. We're here to help you," Howland said. 
 
When Sonsini announced its closing, Howland, who was the shelter's manager, worked to save it, launching fundraising initiatives. However, the previous board decided to close the shelter down and agreed to let Howland open her own shelter using their mission. 
 
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