U.S. Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team Loses Double Overtime Heartbreaker to Canada, 69-62; Will Face Great Britain for Bronze

September 14, 2008 - Beijing, China

- 2008 Men's Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Results

The USA (5-2) versus Canada (7-0) match-up in the semifinal round of the 2008 Paralympic Games will go down as one of the most epic games in men's wheelchair basketball history. Despite leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, the U.S. was unable to hold on and lost in double overtime, 69-62. Team USA will now face Great Britain in the bronze medal game on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 5:00 p.m. (5 a.m. EDT) at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.

-Our number one weakness came out today and caught up with us in the end," said U.S. head coach Steve Wilson (Racine, Wis.). -No matter how you look at it, this is disappointing. We came here to win a gold medal and won't have the opportunity to do that. But, I'm so proud of these guys. They fought all the way and worked so hard. It just shows how strong our team is and how much we believe in one another."

The weakness of which Wilson spoke is free throws. The U.S. was leading 56-53 with just 34 seconds to go in the first overtime when Canada started to foul. At this point, the U.S. was 2-for-7 from the line and in the closing five and half minutes of play " spanning the end of the first overtime and all of the second overtime " the team sank just two of its 12 free throw attempts.

-We had so many opportunities to close out the game and just couldn't make it happen," said Jeff Glasbrenner (Little Rock, Ark.). -It's disappointing, but we don't want to leave here without any hardware at all. I'm proud of the way our team stuck together and know we'll be ready for Great Britain on Tuesday."

Team USA also had to overcome the loss of three key players to fouls. Paul Schulte (Bradenton, Fla. / Manchester, Mich.) collected his fifth foul with nearly six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, while Joe Chambers (Whitewater, Wis. / Davis, Calif.) and Matt Scott (Whitewater, Wis. / Detroit, Mich.) both fouled out in the second overtime.

The U.S. also was unable to contain Canadian all-star Pat Anderson who tallied an incredible 33 points and 21 rebounds. Anderson also hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds to go in regulation, which sent the game into its first extra period. Leading the U.S. team's offensive effort were Chambers with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Glasbrenner with 11 points.

-A loss like this can really reveal the true colors of a team and I'm proud to be a part of this group of guys," said Schulte. -It's incredibly difficult to bounce back from this kind of loss, but we're going to be ready to fight for each other in the next one and go home with a medal."

Highlights of the 2008 Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Tournament can be found at ParalympicSport.tv/. Additional resources are available in the U.S. Paralympics Media Room, and Daily video highlights will be available on www.usparalympics.org and www.universalsports.com.