January 9, 2024
Eustis Boys Basketball Team Wins Comeback Thriller Against South Lake 62-58
By Kyle Coppola
Eustis Boys Basketball Team Wins Comeback Thriller Against South Lake 62-58
In a game that proved to be just as we expected the Eustis Panthers outlasted the South Lake Eagles 62-58. We knew this game was going to be one of the best games of the 2023 season and it truly delivered.
Eustis was coming off a tough loss against Leesburg High. The two rivals now split that series 1-1 with one more game remaining on the schedule on January 26th. South Lake was riding high off a 5 game win streak which would ultimately come to an end against Eustis.
The first quarter was dominated by South Lake. They took an early 16-11 advantage but in between quarters Eustis head coach Wesley Green must have made some changes becasue Eustis came out in the second quarter looking like a different team. It was enough for Eusits to even the score at 30-30 going into halftime.
Coach Wesley Green has been getting the most out of his boys this season and they have some terrific talent this season that has allowed the Panthers to shine. Senior Jayveon Dale has had a good year and is averaging 16 points per game (Last time stats were updated). The entire team is having an impact this year and did this game.
That is where the Eustis defense began to shine. A few key stops, and baskets in transition down the other end allowed Eustis to score 19 points in the fourth quarter, holding South Lake to 9 points. This was a huge come from behind victory for Eustis and props to the players and coaching staff for making adjustments.
South Lake’s Isaiah Pina and Kevens Charles did what they could in this one but ultimately could not hang onto the lead late in the game. It was a tough loss for South Lake but they will face Leesburg, Umatilla and RLCA coming up so they will need to put this tough loss behind them. Overall South Lake is still in good shape but they really would have loved this win last night.
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.
