Manning boys basketball team battling inconsistency
Manning to play in AA for 2024-25, 2025-2026 school years
Manning – The Manning High School boys basketball team has had an up-and-down season. There’s really no other way to put it.
The Monarchs got off to a 13-9 start and most of the wins and losses came in streaks. They’ve had winning streaks of four and five games, but also lost five of six. Three of those losses were their first three Region 7-AAA games.
Two of the three region losses came by less than 10 points, 68-60 to Dillon and 58-55 to Loris. Manning lost to Georgetown 61-43 before beating Waccamaw 58-46 for their first region victory.
“We’ve got to learn how to do two things,” said first-year Manning head coach Patrick Clark. “We’ve got to learn how to listen, and we’ve got to learn how to execute. If we learn to do those two things very well, we’ll be a tough team.”
Junior guard Jeffery Ceasar is having a tremendous season for the Monarchs. Ceasar was leading the team in scoring with a 17.2 per-game average. He also led the team in assists at 3.1 and steals at 3.1 He’s also averaging 3.8 rebounds.
Junior Tavion Carter was averaging a double-double with 12. 6 rebounds while scoring at a 10.6 clip.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the Monarchs’ inconsistency is the youth of the roster. There are no seniors seeing significant playing time while two freshmen, a sophomore and three more juniors are part of the playing rotation,
Freshmen Jordyn Thompson and Lovell Stevenson are the next two leading scorers. Thompson is averaging 7.3 points while Stevenson is averaging 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Sophomore Emory Hampton is averaging 4.4 points, while juniors Joshua Cooper, Peyton Frierson and Tyler Green were averaging 5.9, 2.6 and 1.8 points, respectively.
Clark said the Monarchs have to play to their strengths to finish the season in a good position.
“The bottom line is we have to play better, we have to get better.,” he said. “We have to come out with some intensity and stop playing to our opponents’ strengths and toward what we do best.”
LADY MONARCHS GET FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
This has been a rough season for the Manning girls basketball team. However, a ray of light came the Lady Monarchs’ way on Jan. 20 when they picked up their first victory of the season with a 38-26 region win over Georgetown.
Manning head coach Verner Hilton was not caught off guard by the struggles.
“I wouldn't say it's a shock,” Hilton said. “I knew coming into the year, that we were young, with some basketball challenges, and a year of rebuilding. Not to mention losing our key player and starter, Parah Anderson, right before the season begins with a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).”
Anderson, a senior, was the leading returning scorer with a 6.6 average.
The starters are sophomore Tamia Watson, freshman Aysia Moore, junior Tahirah Wellington, senior Laynah Pearson and junior Sakiya Makell. Moore had the top scoring average among the starters at 6.2 points. Wellington has the top scoring average among the starters at 5.7 to go with a team high 7.0 rebounds.
Watson was averaging 4.0 points and 4.9 rebounds, Pearson was averaging 1.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, and Makell was averaging 1.9 points and 1.6 steals.
The Lady Monarchs’ leading scorer was freshman Taniya Johnson. She was coming off the bench averaging 7.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
Although most of the losses have come in lopsided fashion, Hilton is pleased with the effort of her players.
“I do commend the ladies for making progress each game and not giving up,” Hilton said. “They continue to work hard in giving their best each game.”
MANNING WILL BE AA FOR 2024-26 SCHOOL YEARS
Manning will be classified as a AA school in sports for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years following the South Carolina High School League’s bi-annual reclassification.
“We are looking forward to competing in Class AA for the next two years,” said Monarch football head coach and Clarendon School District athletic director Reggie Kennedy.
Manning will be a part of Region 7-AA. The other schools in the region will be fellow Clarendon School District school East Clarendon, which is coming up from Class A, Kingstree, Lake City, Marion, Mullins and Atlantic Collegiate, which is located in Myrtle Beach.
Manning has traditionally been a AAA school, but this won’t be the first time it has competed at the AA level. Manning was a AA school for six years starting with the 2006-07 school year and running through the 2011-12 year.
The Manning football program went 56-23 during that time frame and played for the lower state championship on two occasions. Manning is 12th in student body size in the new 45-school AA, which includes seven schools which had the 3-times multiplier up its student body count.
Kennedy believes the new region will benefit Manning from a financial aspect.
“The switch should increase our gate receipts and cut down on travel,” he said.
Manning has been a member of Region 7-AAA with Dillon, Horry County schools Loris and Aynor and Georgetown County schools Waccamaw and Georgetown. The closest trip for Manning is 57 miles to Georgetown. The others are between 65 (Waccamaw) and 98 (Loris) miles away.
While Marion (74 miles), Mullins (84) and Atlantic Collegiate (98) will be long trips, East Clarendon is just 18 miles away in Turbeville, while Kingstree is a 25-mile trip and Lake City a 34-mile trip.
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