With just eight available players Tuesday night against the Raptors, the Magic dropped their fourth straight contest at Scotiabank Arena and their seventh in the last nine games.

After opening the season 21-15 and fourth in the East, Jamahl Mosley‘s squad has fallen to 23-22 and sat eighth entering Wednesday’s slate due to a plethora of injuries to starters and key rotational players.

But all hope is not lost for Orlando.

Rising star forward Franz Wagner was upgraded to questionable Wednesday afternoon for the first time since he suffered a torn right abdominal muscle injury Dec. 6 at Philadelphia. He’s missed 20 games total, including 16 between Dec. 8-Jan. 12 due to the injury itself, but the last four (Jan. 15-21) because of return to competition reconditioning.

“As a team, we’ve dealt with a lot of adversity over the years,” All-Star forward Paolo Banchero said Tuesday night in Toronto. “So it’s not something that we’re not used to. We always find a way to make it out and I’m sure this won’t be any different.

“Even though it looks pretty bad right now, we’ll make it,” he added.

And Banchero is right.

The Magic have been in this position before and they know how to climb out of an injury-driven slump.

When the start of Banchero’s rookie season was plagued by injury, the Magic began the year 5-20. Orlando then went 29-24 over its next 53 games until the group was the final team in the East to be mathematically eliminated from the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Then during Banchero’s sophomore campaign when the Magic were hurt with injuries again, they dropped eight out of 11 games in January after starting last season 21-15.

Once Orlando regained roster strength, however, it won 13 of its next 16 and surged in the second half of the season to finish fifth in the East and return to the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Knowing what they’ve gone through in the past, the Magic are aware there’s light at the end of tunnel.

“You want to come away with the win — don’t get it confused — but there’s got to be a lesson in this loss,” coach Jamahl Mosley said Tuesday night. “A big portion of that, one, is once we get bodies back, that will be a big change. Two, we’ve got to understand what exactly was successful in that first half that leads to doing it again in the second half.”

What they did well in the first half against the Raptors was hit 3s (shot 37.5% on 6 of 16 shooting) and limit Toronto’s trips to the free throw line (just 6 of 9).

After the break, however, Orlando shot 3 of 15 from beyond the arc (20%) and sent the Raptors to the charity stripe 19 times (where they converted 12 free throws).

It’s what happens when a team has just eight available players majority of the night and fatigue sets in as the contest progresses. The quality of shots drops and the room for error on defense increases.

Beede’s Breakdown: How shorthanded Magic dropped 4th straight at Toronto

“I can’t speak for everybody, but yeah, actually I can — It’s tough playing with eight dudes, for sure,” Magic guard Anthony Black said. “We’ve got dudes playing also battling different things. It’s definitely always an excuse you can make but just like we’re always saying, we know we’ve got enough so we’re not letting ourselves make that excuse.”

Although Orlando isn’t one to make excuses, the group was without Franz Wagner (return to competition reconditioning), Jalen Suggs (low back strain), Goga Bitadze (concussion protocol), Gary Harris (left hamstring strain), Jett Howard (left ankle sprain), Cole Anthony (illness) and Moe Wagner (left knee torn ACL).

It then lost Jonathan Isaac (illness) in the first quarter and saw Wendell Carter Jr. foul out with just over 3 minutes left in the contest.

But help could be on the way as Orlando returns home to host the Trail Blazers (15-28) on Thursday.

In addition to Franz Wagner, the Magic listed Isaac, Anthony, Howard and Harris all as questionable for the contest. Bitadze was upgraded from out to doubtful, while Suggs remains out.

“Of course we’re happy to get our guys back when they do come back,” Black said. “But right now we’re just focused on trying to stay afloat, get rolling and get some wins going until they come back and we get back into it.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic vs. Trail Blazers

When: 7, Thursday, Kia Center

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida

By MARK LONG

Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE — General manager Trent Baalke is out in Jacksonville after the Jaguars failed to land second interviews with three of their top coaching candidates.

Team owner Shad Khan made the announcement Wednesday, hours after Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen withdrew his name for consideration for the Jaguars job and agreed to a new contract with the Buccaneers. Coen had been scheduled to interview with the Jaguars on Wednesday.

“Following several discussions with Trent Baalke this week, we both arrived at the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interests to respectfully separate, effective immediately,” Khan said in a statement. “Trent leaves us with my deepest appreciation for his efforts over the past five seasons.”

Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager and will “continue the process of interviewing candidates to serve as our new head coach,” Khan said.

It had become clear that Baalke was impeding Jacksonville’s coaching search, with Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn taking other jobs without a sit-down interview with the Jaguars. And Coen’s call may have forced Khan’s hand when the OC canceled a visit to Jacksonville and chose to keep his current job in Tampa Bay.

Jacksonville had narrowed its search to Coen, Las Vegas defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Graham and Saleh are scheduled for in-person interviews on Thursday and Friday.

Khan insisted after firing Doug Pederson earlier this month that Baalke’s retention as GM would not affect the coaching search. He was wrong.

“I am deeply committed to building a winner here in Jacksonville and look forward to introducing a new head coach who will make that happen for our players and fans alike,” Khan said.

The 60-year-old Baalke developed a less-than-spotless reputation around the league, and three of the five coaches he hired in San Francisco and Jacksonville — Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly and Urban Meyer — had one-and-done tenures.

Baalke’s drafts were mixed. He hit on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, right tackle Anton Walker and receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round. But he chose defensive end Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson and whiffed on first-rounder Devin Lloyd as well as several second-day picks: offensive tackle Walker Little, safety Andre Cisco, center Luke Fortner and linebacker Chad Muma.

His free-agent classes were equally spotty, with the latest one being among the least productive in team history.

The Jaguars committed more than $150 million, including roughly $90 million guaranteed, to sign seven free agents. The group included receiver Gabe Davis, journeyman cornerback Ronald Darby and oft-injured defensive lineman Arik Armstead. None of them made the Jags better.

The unceremonious ending to his time in Jacksonville was the latest black eye for a GM whose resume includes working alongside five consecutive coaches who were fired: Meyer (2021), Doug Marrone (2020), Kelly (2016), Tomsula (2015) and Jim Harbaugh (2014). Baalke worked as a football operations consultant to the NFL for three years between front-office stints with San Francisco and Jacksonville.

Jaguars fans have long called for Baalke to get the boot. They even organized a “Klown Out” during the 2021 season finale to protest Khan’s decision to keep Baalke in place before he hired Pederson.

With Baalke finally out of the picture, Jacksonville could double-back on Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Under NFL rules, the earliest they can interview again is next week because their teams are in conference title games.

Nonetheless, the Jaguars (4-13) will move forward with three fewer candidates in play. The question now becomes how much more attractive is the job without Baalke in the mix?

They have a young quarterback (Lawrence) with upside, a budding star at receiver (Thomas Jr.), a few defensive building blocks (cornerback Tyson Campbell and pass rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker), a relatively new practice facility, a $1.4 billion stadium renovation upcoming and a hands-off owner with deep pockets.

They have the fifth overall draft pick in April and roughly $50 million in salary-cap space for 2025, play in arguably the NFL’s weakest division (AFC South) and work in a state with plenty of sunshine and no income tax. They also went 3-10 in one-score games — an indication they could be a quick fix.

But Khan is committed to playing at least one home game annually in London — even though it may put the team at a competitive disadvantage — and will play home games in 2026 in front of a reduced capacity and play all of 2027 away from Jacksonville.

The unique “Elam Ending” rule twist will again be utilized for the five varsity boys basketball games in Saturday’s Kalyn High Master’s Classic at The Master’s Academy.

On the first stoppage of play with three minutes or less remaining, the game clock is turned off and a target score to win is established. It will be eight points more than the team in front has. So if a team is leading 76-70, the first to 84 points gets the victory.

The concept is designed to encourage teams that are trailing to continue efforts to outscore the team that leads — rather than foul to stop the clock. It’s been used in recent NBA All-Star games.

This year’s Master’s Classic matchups look to be entertaining.

Kissimmee Osceola (18-1), ranked No. 4 in 7A, plays 3A No. 9 Lake Highland Prep (16-4).

Master’s (16-4), No. 9 in 2A, plays 7A Dr. Phillips (9-10).

East River, enjoying the best season in program history, will play traditionally strong Holy Trinity (10-11). The Falcons, who set a school record with last season’s 16-11 record, were 16-4 going into a Tuesday night game against Sanford Seminole (10-9).

Oviedo, No. 7 in 6A, plays 1A No. 5 Victory Christian (15-5). The Lions were 13-8 going into a Wednesday game against 7A No. 11 St. Cloud (18-3).

Here is Saturday’s schedule at TMA:

JV: Hagerty vs. Master’s, 9:30 a.m.

JV: Winter Park vs. Master’s, 11

Holy Trinity vs. East River, 12:20 p.m.

Osceola vs. Lake Highland, 2 p.m.

Winter Park vs. Master’s girls, 3:30

Hagerty vs. Orlando Christian Prep, 5

Dr. Phillips vs. Master’s 6:30

Oviedo vs. Victory Christian, 8

Osceola County’s boys basketball boom features Osceola High, St. Cloud and more

Competitive cheer

Seven area cheer squads earned automatic berths into the FHSAA state tournament with victories in the Region 2 competition at Hagerty High.

The host Huskies won their division, as did Deltona, Freedom, Lake Brantley, Lake Mary, Oviedo, and Winter Park.

Runners-up that advance to semifinal competition are Boone, Bishop Moore, Colonial, DeLand, East Ridge, Foundation Academy, Horizon, Lake Howell, and Orlando University.

The state meet will be held Jan. 31 – Feb. 1, at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Undaunted Evans knocks off Orlando power Oak Ridge in boys basketball

Hot hoops Friday

Montverde Academy (13-3), No. 3 in MaxPreps’ national academy Top 10 rankings, travels to Miami to play Christopher Columbus (17-3), MaxPreps’ No. 1 team in its traditional high school rankings, in a Friday 6 p.m. game that will be televised by ESPN2. Montverde topped the three-time defending state champ Explorers 59-57 in the December final of the City of Palms Classic.

Elsewhere on Friday, Windermere (17-3), No. 2 in FHSAA 7A rankings behind Columbus, is home against Apopka (15-5).

Oak Ridge (13-7), No. 3 in 7A, comes off a wild 100-94 homecourt loss to Evans to play at 6A No. 4 Edgewater (12-8).

Evans (17-4), riding high again at No. 2 in 6A, plays at 6A No. 4 Lake Howell (16-4). The Trojans dealt Oak Ridge its first Orange County setback since a 2022-23 season loss to Olympia, in a Monday MLK Dream is Real Classic showdown.

Girls basketball

Dr. Phillips has more losses than any other team in the Class 7A girls basketball top 10. But the three-time defending state champ Panthers have played a brutal schedule and showed over the weekend that they can play with anybody.

The Panthers faced more top-tier talent when they traveled to Atlanta for a MLK Classic. They defeated Parkview of Georgia and then put a big scare into Peach State power Hebron Christian (18-1) before losing 69-65. Hebron is ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps.

DP, 12-9 going into a Wednesday game vs. Leesburg, completes its regular season with a Tuesday home game against Jones (13-6).

Girls wrestling

Host Freedom finished second to Brooksville Hernando in the Florida Girls Elite 8 Duals tournament. Weight class winners for the Patriots were:

Josie Reeves, Hananeel Gregoire, Genesis Escorcia, Eduarda Franklin Soares, Ceajah Brown, Elody Rodriguez, Jikayla Hutto, Mekialla Mauvais and Rotchiva Clermont.

Daytona State stars

The top three scorers, and five of the top seven, for Daytona State’s streaking junior college men’s basketball team are sophomores who played for Orlando area high schools.

Isaiah Dorceus, a 2023 Windermere High alum, leads the No. 4 JUCO team in the nation at 15.5 ppg, followed by Eduardo Placer (CFCA) 11.3 and Dylan Diaz (Lake Minneola) 10.9. Twins Ryan Bewley (West Oaks) 10.2 and Matt Bewley (West Oaks) are averaging 10.2 and 8.7.

The 6-foot-9 Bewley brothers, who left West Oaks to land a money-making deal with Overtime Elite as juniors in 2021, signed with Chicago State in August but were ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

Daytona State, averaging 101.3 points per game, were 16-2 with 14 consecutive wins going into a Wednesday game at Polk State College of Winter Haven. DSC is home vs. Hillsborough CC on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Boys soccer: Lake Nona, Bishop Moore, Timber Creek, Windermere, Ocoee lead pack

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.

MIAMI GARDENS — Any Miami Dolphins follower’s memories of offensive lineman Andrew Meyer’s rookie season with the team will probably be limited to general manager Chris Grier’s comical first quote about the center making the roster as an undrafted free agent in 2024.

“He looks like a truck driver,” Grier quipped, before offering a more detailed response that shed light on why the Dolphins felt the UTEP alum was worthy of a spot on the team’s 53-man roster.

The man who might give the appearance of a truck driver — maybe for his burly build combined with buzzcut and beard — hasn’t had the chance to truck defenders as a blocker in a regular-season game for Miami yet, though.

Meyer, who turned 25 on Jan. 14, was inactive for 14 of the Dolphins’ 17 regular-season games and did not see action in the other three.

Nonetheless, after impressing franchise decision-makers with his training camp and three preseason games in August 2024 — and despite plenty of roster movement with players coming on and off injured reserve and others coming in and out — the Dolphins never found it worthwhile to cut Meyer and risk him getting poached by another team.

“I do appreciate them keeping me around,” Meyer told the South Florida Sun Sentinel as players cleaned out their lockers to conclude the season earlier this month. “It obviously shows that they think I have a lot to offer. It’s kind of like a matter of time when I’m going to get my chance, when I’m going to get to do those things.”

It’s clear the Dolphins feel there is value in developing Meyer, whom they view as a center but could be a versatile lineman that can play either guard spot on the interior of the offensive line.

“He’s got personality, he’s tough, he’s smart,” Grier said before the season. “He loves ball. He’s a grinder. And every day he just got better and better.”

Meyer knows he must be doing something right to earn the organization’s trust. As guards Liam Eichenberg, Robert Jones and Isaiah Wynn enter free agency, he can strive to take the next step and compete for a bigger role in 2025.

“As of now, I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” Meyer said. “I think that I’ve kind of found a routine that’s helped me out, helped me stay here. I’m going to keep doing that, maybe amp it up a little bit, but I’m doing a lot and I think as long as I just stay on the platform saying I’m going to find my fit here, I’ll get out there eventually.”

With his first year on the sideline came knowledge gained.

“You learn how to go about your business, how to be a pro,” Meyer said. “Everybody talks about it, and I think that that’s one benefit to not being active. You kind of get to sit back and really observe everything that’s going on around you. Obviously, I want to be active, I want to be out there, I want to be playing, but that was the one benefit, is that I get to sit back and see how other guys go about their business and how they handle being a professional. It’s going to help me a lot in these upcoming years.”

Included in that in the offensive line room is a rookie season where he got to see how veterans in their 30s, five-time Pro Bowler Terron Armstead and Kendall Lamm, go about their business.

“It’s unmatched,” Meyer said. “At the end of the day, experience is everything, and those guys have as much experience as you’re going to find in the NFL. Just being able to get advice — and not only football stuff — but how you handle yourself off the field, on the field, with your family, all that stuff. The advice given from them isn’t worth any of my money. It’s just that valuable to have. It’s awesome having those guys around.”

As for looking like a truck driver, the San Diego native did say at the start of the season he always preferred the 10-hour drive between home and UTEP to flying back and forth.