Laurence Manning's Lyles leads winning streak on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

The Laurence Manning boys basketball team didn't start 2026 on the right foot.

The Swampcats were without one of their central figures, sophomore Scoop Dennis, as the wing recovers from a leg injury, and they suffered a lopsided loss to Pinewood Prep. With region play right around the corner, they needed to get back on track. Wes Lyles was ready to step up to the plate.

LMA played a trio of games last week, first a non-region tilt with Orangeburg Prep, before home dates with Camden Military and Wilson Hall, their biggest rival. In each game, Lyles was an offensive force, helping lead the 'Cats to three wins to right the ship. As a result, the junior earned Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week honors.

"It's amazing," Lyles said of the support of the Laurence Manning community. "I've never been in an environment like LMA."

Laurence Manning head coach Patrick Anderson preaches a team mentality with the Swampcats. He didn't want to put the weight of the world on Lyles with Scoop Dennis sidelined, but he was certainly happy to have the junior step up offensively in the meantime.

"He's been huge; he's played great the past two weeks," the LMA head coach said of Lyles. "He's a high-IQ guy, a high-motor guy, and he's really left it all out on the court."

Lyles wanted to shoulder the offensive load without his co-leading scorer in the lineup and did so all week long. He averaged 18 points per game across three victories.

"It's definitely difficult, but I know I could do it," the junior said of the added offensive output.

The week started with their closest game of the week. Shots weren't falling for the 'Cats for most of the night, but Lyles provided a steady flow of offense, finishing with 15 points on the road.

"We were on a rough losing streak, and nobody was really hitting those shots," Lyles said. "I knew we had to get something started because usually when one person pops off on our team, the rest of them start going."

While it wasn't the prettiest win, Anderson was glad to see his team could win without their fastball and Lyles was leading the charge.

"You've got to be able to win games like that if you're going to be successful down the road," the LMA head coach said. "The ball's not always going to go in the hoop like you want it to, so the fact that we were able to pull it out not scoring the ball well says a lot about our defense and a lot about our guys, and Wes brought it on defense, gave us great offensive looks as well."

The Swampcats then had a cakewalk against Camden Military, cruising to a 67-34 win in which Lyles finished with 19 points and connected three times from behind the arc.

Then came the game of the week, LMA's first matchup with their rivals from Wilson Hall. It was the first time Lyles played in the heightened environment, and he enjoyed every second of it.

"It was great," he said. "The gym is so much smaller and there's way more people, so there are people everywhere. There are people sitting on the floor and everything. It's great; it's just so much more fun."

Anderson was glad to see Lyles was ready for the moment because the sophomore went off for 20 points in a 55-33 win. He set the tone early, scoring nine points in the first quarter as the 'Cats put the game out of reach immediately.

"I was very proud of him because he's probably feeling more pressure on him anyway, not to mention the big rivalry game and the environment that we were in," Anderson said. "I think he handled it great; he brought great energy and tremendous effort all night. He's a huge key to our success."

The good times kept rolling on Tuesday, when Lyles and the Swampcats traveled to Hilton Head Christian and claimed another region victory 64-45. Lyles led the way with 19 points as nine 'Cats got in on the scoring action.

"Hilton Head was definitely tough. Their gym is small, and they've got crazy fans. It was an all-around crazy game. Our team all around has been really good," Lyles said.

While Lyles provided an offensive boost during this winning streak, Anderson was quick to point out his contributions on the defensive end, which can turn into points in transition.

"We like to find our identity on defense, and he does it all," Anderson said. "He really brings the focus on defense. He can guard 1-5 most of the time, so he's a matchup problem on defense, he rebounds well, he can get it and go. He's been big time."

As the Swampcats look to stay hot without a key contributor, Lyles was quick to credit his teammates that share the load. Right in the center of it is the other Dennis brother, Zy, their senior point guard.

"Zy's really the leader; he tells us where we all need to be, and we're all just hyping up each other all the time," Lyles said. "If anybody has a shot, they're going to take it. We always pass the ball around. It's just great."