CAN - Canada drops to 1-1 in german exhibition set

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NUREMBURG (FIBA World Championship) - Canada’s Senior Men’s Basketball Team fell to the German national team 95-75, just two days after defeating the same German side 71-68 and spoiling the 2006 national team debut of Dirk Nowitzki in Hamburg.

Newfoundland’s Carl English led the Canadian attack with a game-high 22 points; the second-straight game in which he was the nation’s high scorer, after recording 18 points on Friday. Ontario’s Jesse Young was Canada’s only other double-digit scorer with 10 points and a team-high tying seven rebounds. BC’s Levon Kendall also had seven rebounds for Canada.

Both teams started the game with lots of energy, feeding off the atmosphere of another sold-out German crowd. Ontario forward Dave Thomas scored the first seven points of the game for Canada although the Germans rallied to take a 24-19 first quarter lead.

Canada got off to another strong start in the second stanza, scoring the first eight points of the quarter to retake the lead. However, Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki found his scoring touch as the quarter wore on and helped his team outscore Canada in the period 30-15 and take a 54-42 advantage into the locker rooms at halftime. Nowitzki finished the first half with a team-high 11 points while English led all scorers with 12.

The teams opened the third quarter trading baskets before Germany began to pull away, opening a 20-point lead halfway though the quarter with aggressive play on both sides of the ball. Canada rallied later in the quarter, but still trailed 78-57 heading into the final stanza of play.

Canada upped their ball pressure in the fourth quarter in attempt to claw their way back into the game, but despite outscoring Germany 21-17 in the period, the lead proved to difficult to overcome.

“The game can down to one thing, adjustments,” said Canadian Head Coach Leo Rautins. “They are a veteran team and made adjustments to our game. We are a young team and did not make all the adjustments we needed. This is part of the learning process and why we are on the road playing these teams and practising everyday.”

Canada outrebounded Germany for the second-straight game, 36-33 but shot .420 (29-69) from the field compared to .569 (33-58) by Germany.

“It was tough for us to play back-to-back games against an older veteran team like Germany,” commented Thomas. “We played hard but did not keep our composure at critical times of the game. This was a good learning experience for us in front of a hostile crowd.”

Germany was led in scoring by Ademola Okulaja’s 16 points, who also lead his team in scoring on Friday with 21. Nowitzki was Germany’s second-leading scorer with 15 points.

With their two-game set against the Germans complete, Canada now moves on to Maribor, Slovenia for the International Alpos Cup, August 4-6, featuring teams from Venezuela, Lebanon and Slovenia.

Canada Basketball