February 28, 2025
Southeast Christian College Eagles Make History with First-Ever Playoff Win
By Kyle Coppola
Southeast Christian College Eagles Make History with First-Ever Playoff Win
MILTON, FL. — Southeast Christian College made history Wednesday night, securing the program’s first-ever playoff victory with a 77-63 win over John Melvin University in the opening round of the 2025 New South Athletic Conference (NSAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Eagles, in their inaugural season, overcame a five-point halftime deficit behind a dominant second-half performance from Naysean Rhome, who finished with 20 points, including 18 after the break. Marvin Windom anchored the defense with six blocks as Southeast Christian pulled away down the stretch.
John Melvin University led 37-32 at halftime as both teams battled in a back-and-forth first half. However, Rhome caught fire in the second, sparking a decisive Eagles run that sealed the victory.
Southeast Christian’s rapid rise has been awesome to watch. The program was fast-tracked and approved just before the season, leaving coach Walker with only a few months to assemble a team. Despite early struggles, the Eagles have found their rhythm late in the season and now find themselves headed to the 2nd round of the NSAC Basketball tournament.
The Eagles advance to face Lighthouse Christian College in the second round of the NSAC Tournament tonight at 7pm central standard time.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
