Myrtle Beach’s Brown to get MRI results on knee Tuesday

Myrtle Beach’s uphill climb to a third straight Class AAA girls basketball title was daunting enough as it was.

Now, the Seahawks’ quest appears much harder.

Junior Tanisha Brown will receive results on an MRI on her left knee Tuesday morning that will dictate exactly how long the star forward will be out. Best case scenario, coach Brian Kiper said, is that Brown will miss at least two to three weeks.

“We won’t really know anything until (Tuesday), but she’s definitely going to miss some time,” Kiper said Monday.

Kiper said it isn’t clear exactly when the injury happened. The team played Lake City on Jan. 6, and Brown scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in that game. However, the next night, against Conway, Brown complained of problems in her knee.

She missed both of the team’s games last week and underwent the MRI on Friday morning.

Kiper said that, realistically, Brown could be out more like four to six weeks if the larger portion of the medial collateral ligament suffered damage. Kiper, however, said doctors have not ruled out a possible anterior cruciate ligament tear.

If that was the case, Brown would be done for the year.

The 5-foot-11 forward, who committed to North Carolina very early in her career, is averaging 13 points and 11 rebounds per game. Combined with her two years at Conway, she’s scored 1,554 career points and is 35 away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau at Myrtle Beach alone.

“It’s not her senior year. Tanisha has a future in basketball beyond high school,” Kiper said. “That’s the good thing from her standpoint.

“From a team standpoint, you’re taking our second-leading scorer; you’re taking our post defender. The girls have to play a lot more off the bench. We’re just going to have to improve on those aspects.”

Of course, Myrtle Beach is not devoid of talent. Longtime starting guard and South Carolina signee Khadijah Sessions is averaging better than 27 points per game.

The Seahawks scored victories over Wilson and Socastee last week with Brown on the bench, but the task is going to significantly tougher this week. Myrtle Beach (14-2, 2-0 Region VIII-AAA) hosts St. James (13-3, 2-0) on Tuesday. Then it’s on to a Friday matchup with North Myrtle Beach (11-5, 1-1).

Those two games likely will be the toughest region games for the Seahawks this season. They’re also going to be major tests for a team. that is missing one half of the combination largely responsible for its current No. 2 state ranking.

And for the first time in years, Myrtle Beach may be in jeopardy of losing a league game. The Seahawks have not lost a region contest since 2005-2006.

And if Brown is out for an extended period of time, it could drastically change the Seahawks’ potential the rest of the way. The state playoffs begin Feb. 13.

Swanny’s classic

The field has been finalized for the 2nd Annual Swanny’s Classic high school/prep basketball tournament, which runs Saturday and Sunday at the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center in North Myrtle Beach.

The 17-team rotation begins at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, when 10 games will be played. Twelve games are set for Sunday. Admission for the event is $10 per day or $15 for a two-day pass. High school and junior high students will be charged $3, and children 12 and under will be admitted free.

Two former local players will be participating in the event. Former North Myrtle Beach guard and last year’s Toast of the Coast Player of the Year, Dylan Poston, will compete with his new squad, Faith Baptist (Braden, Fla.). Poston inked with Mercer during the early signing period in November.

Also, former Conway player Leroy Moultrie, who graduated in 2009 and enrolled at Port City Prep in North Charleston over the summer, will return to the Grand Strand for the tournament.

Surf and Turf update

Tickets for the inaugural Surf and Turf Kickoff Classic are now on sale at the event’s website, www.surfandturfkickoff.com.

The two-game event will feature Myrtle Beach playing Irmo and Conway taking on Rock Hill on Aug. 25 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

Online purchases drop the ticket price to $10 from $12. And those who buy tickets via the website will also receive priority for the 2013 event, which will be expanded to eight teams with a South Carolina vs. North Carolina format.