Laurence Manning boys basketball team finishes 25-5 while reaching SCISA AAAA semifinals

           Manning  – The last time Laurence Manning Academy won a boys basketball state championship came in the 2011-12 campaign. The Swampcats beat Heathwood Hall to claim the SCISA AAA state title.

           That was also the last time LMA had reached the semifinals of the state tournament – until this year.

           Led by second-year head coach Patrick Anderson, a senior standout on the championship team, Laurence Manning went 25-5 on the season and came within a game of playing for the AAAA state title.

           Anderson said he hopes this is the start of a long run of success for the program.

 “It’s huge,” Anderson said of reaching the semifinals again. “We want to play in big games. I told them in the locker room just now (following the semifinal loss to Heathwood Hall) this is where we expect to be year in and year out. This is where we want to be, and this is going to be the expectation from now on.

It’s the best finish we’ve had in 14 years. We expect to win this game next year.”

 Laurence Manning won the Region 3-AAAA championship with an 11-1 record and then claimed the region tournament. Three Swampcats were selected to the All-Region tam in senior Zy Dennis, senior Charlie Duvall and junior Wes Lyles.

 Sophomore Scoop Dennis, junior Ben Sanders, senior Whitley Boykin and junior Tristen White were also key contributors.

           “They improved every single week in some facet, whether it was offensively or defensively, everybody was improving every game,” Anderson said. “People stepped up every single game. It wasn’t always the same person. It was a lot of fun to coach this team.”

           Laurence Manning received a first-round bye in the state tournament and defeated Hammond  50-38 in the quarterfinals. Scoop  Dennis led Laurence Manning with 14 points with Duvall right behind with 13. White and Lyles both had seven, Zy Dennis had four and Boykin chipped in three.

           The Swampcats faced eventual state runner-up Heathwood Hall in the semifinals, falling by a 52-39 count.

Lyles led Laurence Manning with 13 points. Zy Dennis had nine, Scoop Dennis seven, White fve and Duvall three.

           “We played hard,” said Anderson, whose team saw the game get away in the fourth quarter. “I’m very proud of our guys. In that fourth quarter we let it slip away a little bit, but I’m proud of these guys, very proud of my seniors. They kind of laid the foundation for what we’re going to be for a long time.”

           Along with Zy Dennis, Duvall and Boykin, the other seniors are Shawn Thomas Moore, Camdyn Strickler and Walker Cribb.

 LMA GIRLS FINISH 11-12, WIN PLAYOFF GAME

 The Laurence Manning girls basketball team finished 11-12 in its second season under head coach Lisa Ard. More importantly, the Lady ‘Cats won their first state tournament game since the 2013-14 season.

           That being said, Ard felt there was more on the table for Laurence Manning to accomplish, but its inability to do so had nothing to do with the players’ performance.

           “This season was very frustrating,” she said. “I know we won a playoff game, but I feel if we had everyone well all season we could have achieved more. Between injuries and the flu, after our win over Wilson Hall (53-32 on January 16), we never had our entire team for a game.”

           The Lady ‘Cats defeated Porter-Gaud 48-39 in the first round. Ashley Rae Hodge led the way with 23 points, while Lyza Prickelmyer  had 15. Sarah Margaret Ferriell and Lily Wellborn both had four.

           LMA didn’t fare as well in the quarterfinals, falling to eventual state runner-up Northwood Academy 73-49. Hodge led the way with 20 points, while Prickelmyer had 15 and Wellborn had 11.

           Prickelmyer and Hodge, the senior 5-year starters, were both selected to the All-Region team. Prickelmyer averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 4.6 assists, while Hodge scored at 13.8 clip with 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 2.0 assists.

           “Lyza and Ashley Rae were our leaders this season,” Ard said. “They are a powerful, dynamic duo. They can score, control the offense, rebound and grab the steal when we need it. They’re great young ladies.”

 DAVID RANKIN NEW LMA FOOTBALL COACH

 Veteran SCISA football head coach David Rankin has been hired as the new head coach at Laurence Manning.

 Rankin, who has had various stops at SCISA schools around the state for the better part of the last four decades, comes to LMA after a 2-year stop at Carolina Academy. He went 10-11 there, going 5-5 his first year and 5-6 this past season, losing in the first round of the Class A state playoffs both seasons.

Rankin said the fact that Laurence Manning is a member of AAAA, SCISA’s highest classification, played a major role in his decision to make the move.

“It’s AAAA and I’ve always wanted to be at the top and see if I could win up there,” Rankin said. “I just looked at everything and I just thought it was a good place to be.”

 Rankin has been the head coach at W.W. King Academy, Thomas Sumter Academy and Lee Academy on two different occasions and one term at both Carolina and Williamsburg Academy. During his first stint at Lee, the Cavaliers were in AAA, the highest classification at the time, and went 5-6 both years.

It was during his second stint at Lee where Rankin enjoyed his greatest success. After going 3-8 and 5-5 in the first two years of his 11-year stay that ran from 2013 to 2023, the Cavaliers went 89-26 over the final nine seasons. They won Class A state titles in 2015 and 2022 and played for the state title on four other occasions. For his career, Rankin has coached a state runner-up eight times.