MAGIC WIN A BLOWOUT
Carter, Harris return for Orlando after time off due to injuries
The Orlando Magic picked up two victories Friday at Amway Center.
The Magic (13-21) not only won 133-113 over the San Antonio Spurs (10-22) for their eighth win in the last nine games, but they also had two integral parts of the team in big man Wendell Carter Jr. and guard Gary Harris make their returns.
Carter sat 17 consecutive games since Nov. 19 (and 18 of the last 19) because of strained right plantar fascia — the soft tissue under the foot — while Harris missed the previous 11 because of a strained right hamstring.
Harris also sat out the season’s first 15 games because of left knee injury recovery following arthroscopic surgery in late August on torn cartilage, returning in the Nov. 18 road win over the Chicago Bulls.
Carter (8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 minutes) and Harris (9 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 21 minutes), both of whom came off the bench, were on an unspecified minutes restriction.
“Part of it is I’m going to talk to them to see how they’re feeling throughout the game,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after the morning shootaround. “Them being out so long, you don’t want to rush it. I don’t really have an exact timeframe of what that looks like right now.”
The Magic scored efficiently but struggled with taking care of the ball (15 turnovers in the first three quarters) and securing defensive rebounds (13 offensive rebounds allowed total) for most of Friday.
But they locked in during the final 12 minutes, blitzing the Spurs with a 23-5 run early in the fourth to outscore San Antonio 39-24 in the quarter and matching their largest margin of victory this season.
The Magic made eight 3-pointers in the fourth, tying the fran
and they likely won’t see snow. Forecasts call for Centralia to warm up to 40-45 degrees for Day 1 of the tournament and be in the 50s the following two days.
Both the semifinals and finals will be played Dec. 30.
Missing a big piece
Olympia, ranked second in 7A by MaxPreps, is 7-0 going into the 16-team Kingdom of the Sun Classic at Ocala Vanguard. But the Titans may have to go the rest of the season without 6-foot-6 junior Carter McDole, who averaged 11.8 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds through five games.
He suffered a wrist injury in a win against Kissimmee Osceola.
“I don’t know that we’ll get him back,” Titans coach Rob Gordon said Friday. “It was a pretty intensive surgery. It’s a big blow. Carter was off to a great start.”
The Titans play Viera (9-1), a late entry, in a first-round game Tuesday morning at 9:30 and could face a team ranked No. 2 in Kentucky, Covington Catholic (8-0), in the next round.
The Kingdom field includes 3A No. 1 Providence School (9-0) of Jacksonville, along with Pensacola Washington (8-0) and Winter Haven (8-2), which has two losses to out-of-state teams.
Semifinals are Thursday, setting up a Friday final.
Check SentinelVarsity.com for a listing of upcoming basketball tournaments/showcases.
Tarkanian tough
Oak Ridge (8-5), which opened the season 7-0, went 1-5 in a holiday tour that took the Pioneers to the Bahamas and Las Vegas. Oak Ridge lost two close games in Nassau, then dropped three of four in the top high school bracket at the Tarkanian Classic.
The Pioneers lost 56-51 to then-undefeated St. Augustine of San Diego and later lost to Vegas teams Coronado and Durango.
Jones (7-7) went 3-1 at the Tarkanian, losing in the Spalding Division final 90-55 to Clovis West (14-0), one of California’s best.
OCP wins Battle
Orlando Christian Prep (9-1) won the Battle at the Island tournament at Fleming Island, beating state-ranked Lake City Columbia (8-3) in the final.
In its 80-57 semifinal win versus Martin County, the Warriors had five players score in double figures. Marc Angueki (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Isaiah Brown (19, nine and six assists) led the way. Angueki, a 6-6 junior forward, was tourney MVP.
OCP, ranked No. 2 in 2A by MaxPreps, plays Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic (7-3) on Tuesday, Tallahassee Maclay (10-0) on Wednesday and Windsor Forest (7-3) of Georgia on Thursday at the Mainland Christmas Shootout in Daytona Beach.
Maclay is No. 3 in 3A and has 6-7 forward Blaise Wallace (18.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg).
Edgewater and Evans, both 5-4, are also in the Mainland showcase.
Going for two
Windermere Prep, 7-3 with wins in six of its past seven games, will vie for its second holiday tournament title in the Battle at the Villages, which runs Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Lakers claimed the title in their own holiday tourney by beating Jacksonville Episcopal 52-49. Senior point guard Aiden Fletcher was tourney MVP.
Freshman phenom Brandon Bass Jr. (6-4) is averaging 17.7 points per game and Chandler Watts (6-5, Jr.) is averaging 14 for the Lakers.
The Villages field includes Tampa Berkeley Prep (6-1), Miami Southridge (11-2) and Miami Northwestern (8-1).
More tourney talk
Colonial ran its record to 9-0 with two tight wins in the KSA holiday tournament at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee. The Grenadiers pulled out a 54-53 triple-overtime win against Copper Hills of Utah and edged Sanger of California 50-48.
Colonial goes to the New Smyrna Beach New Year’s Shoot-Out for games Wednesday through Friday. The Grenadiers face Foundation Academy (7-2) on Friday morning.
Undefeated Umatilla (9-0) won its own Lake County Tournament of Champions.
The Bulldogs beat Mount Dora 60-48 in the final, with 6-6 freshman Herly Brutus providing 15 points and 14 rebounds. Brutus went for a triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) in a 75-64 semifinal victory over South Lake. Mekhi Benn had 23 points in that win.
Leesburg (5-4) dealt Central Florida Christian (6-1) its first loss, 63-59, at CFCA’s Class at the Cross. The Yellow Jackets have won four of their past five.
The First Academy (8-2) reached the final of its own TFA Invitational, where the Royals lost 66-43 to a top-10 Kentucky team, Lexington Catholic (9-1).
Bishop Moore (7-2) played
Tampa Berkeley Prep (6-1) in Friday’s final of the Greg O’Connell Holiday Shootout at Springstead High School.
The Hornets host their 34th Jim Clark Classic — with eightteam tournaments for both boys and girls — Tuesday through Thursday.
Extra points
■ Julian Clarke scored 30 points for Lake Highland Prep (5-5) in a 57-44 win over Santa Fe Catholic.
■ Hagerty (7-3) lost 72-68 to Georgia’s Brunswick (8-2) in the final of a tourney hosted by McIntosh County Academy of Darien, Georgia.
■ Windermere (7-2), No. 6 in 7A, joins New York City power South Shore in the King Cotton Classic in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, which runs Tuesday through Thursday.
34th Jim Clark Classic
At Bishop Moore, Orlando Boys Tuesday games
Trinity Prep vs. Boone, 9 a.m. Cypress Creek vs. Buchholz, noon
Franklin (Wisconsin) vs. Evangelical Christian, 3
Lake Buena Vista vs. Bishop Moore, 6
Girls Tuesday games
■ Mercyhurst Prep (Pa.) vs. Lake Mary,10:30 a.m.
■ Orange Park vs. St. Cloud, 1 :3 0
■ Ponte Vedra vs. Apopka, 4 :3 0
■ Eustis vs. Bishop Moore, 7 :3 0
Admission: $10 daily or three-day wristband for $25.
Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.