Canadian men lose to Germany at wheelchair basketball worlds in Ottawa
Nikola Goncin scores team-high 25 points in 89-73 defeat
The Canadian men's wheelchair basketball team lost its matchup against Germany at the world championships in Ottawa on Friday.
Following the 89-73 defeat at the Arena at TD Place, the host team now has a record of one win and one loss at the event.
Nikola Goncin led all Canadian scorers on Friday with 25 points while Colin Higgins had 21 points and Reed De'aeth added 14 off the bench. Goncin added four rebounds and three assists, while Higgins eight rebounds and five assists.
Canada, which led by as many as three points, finished with 17 second-chance points and 24 points in the paint.
Canada's men opened tournament play by beating Morocco 74-51 on Wednesday. They were supposed to face Iran on Saturday but that team announced last weekend it would withdrawing from the tournament.
"It was an improvement by a wide margin from [Wednesday]. I know we lost," Goncin told Wheelchair Basketball Canada, "but it was a significantly more competitive team so that's what we're going to take from it. We're going to take the positives."
The Canadians scored 14 points in the third quarter to trail 76-53.
They also generated chances at both ends of the floor, posting 11 second-chance points and six fast-break points entering the final quarter.
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Germany led 30-26 after the opening quarter and 50-39 at the half.
Canada's men return to game action Monday for a crossover match.
Meanwhile, the women's squad (2-0) returns to the court Saturday against China at 3 p.m. ET in a match available at CBC TV, CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
