January 30, 2025
The Villages Boys Basketball Team Rolls Past Lake Minneola 69-40, in Statement Win
By Kyle Coppola
The Villages Boys Basketball Team Rolls Past Lake Minneola 69-40, in Statement Win
THE VILLAGES, Fla. — The Villages Charter Buffalo left no doubt about their dominance Thursday night, cruising to a 69-40 victory over Lake Minneola High in a key late-season matchup.
In their first meeting, Lake Minneola pushed The Villages to the brink, forcing a triple-overtime thriller before ultimately falling 93-87. This time, there was no such drama. The Buffalo controlled the game from start to finish, showcasing why they are one of the top teams in the region.
(Herly Brutus of The Villages works around a Lake Minneola High defender. Brutus is averaging a team high 7 rebounds per game and 8 points per game. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
Leading the charge was Adyn Corbin, who continued his stellar season with another standout performance. Corbin, averaging 17.7 points per game, set the tone offensively, while teammates Jared Thompson, Aaron Britt Jr., Jomar Bernard, Herly Brutus, and Ethan Bevis also made key contributions.
Lake Minneola (13-11) saw strong efforts from Brandon Colbert and Tyrell Thomas, but the Hawks struggled to keep pace with The Villages’ relentless attack. The loss sets up a critical district tournament showdown for Lake Minneola against South Lake High next week. The No. 4-seeded Hawks will face No. 5 South Lake in what amounts to an elimination game, with the winner advancing to play top-seeded Evans High.
(The Lake Minneola High Hawks will be ranked #4 in the district tournament and will play rival South Lake High who is ranked as the #5 seed. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
Meanwhile, The Villages (18-5), coached by Colt McDowell, secured a first-round bye in the Class 3A District 5 tournament. The Buffalo will await the winner of Umatilla High and Crescent City in the district semifinals on Feb. 5. In the lower half of the bracket, No. 2 South Sumter will take on either Angeline Academy of Innovation or Taylor, also on Feb. 5.
(The Villages Aaron Britt Jr. has been spectacular this year. Here he goes for a layup and is defended by Lake Minneola High’s Josiah Gillard. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
With the postseason approaching, The Villages is looking every bit the contender, while Lake Minneola will need to regroup quickly to keep its season alive. They will be going against a stout South Lake High School team who have Isaiah Pina one of Central Florida’s top scorers and is averaging 24 points per game.
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.
