TORONTO — Canada struggled to find its offence and fell behind early at the men's under-23 world wheelchair basketball championship, losing 70-38 to Turkey on Sunday.
Ben Moronchuk led Canada (2-2) with 14 points on just 5-of-25 shooting. He entered the contest as the tournament's top scorer, averaging 34 points per-game. Liam Hickey added 12 points.
Enes Bulut had a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds for undefeated Turkey (4-0). Ahmet Efeturk chipped in with 14 points and 14 boards.
Canada shot just 24 per cent overall, compared to 49 per cent for Turkey, en route to its lowest-scoring production through four preliminary-round games.
The Canadians were held to just four points in the first quarter, going 7:03 between its two baskets, and trailed 37-16 at halftime.
"I thought we were nervous when we came out and it definitely showed. We missed some shots early again. All week our game plan was having a good start and we didn’t have that good start. It takes a while for us to get our momentum rolling," said Canadian coach Darrell Nordell.
Canada's final round-robin game at the 12-nation tournament is Monday against Brazil (0-3). The Canadians won back-to-back gold medals in 1997 and 2001, but haven't reached the podium since. Germany captured gold at the last U23 world championship in 2013 while Canada finished sixth.
The Canadian Press
