Bronze Medal Game Press Release

BEIJING, China – The U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team was defeated by Great Britain, 85-77, in the bronze medal match of the 2008 Paralympic Games. The U.S. finishes the tournament in fourth place.

“We’ve been through an extremely emotional few days,” said Eric Barber (Whitewater, Wis./Chicago, Ill.). “We were pretty spent and hats off to Great Britain they played an incredible game. This wasn’t the result we wanted, but I’m proud to be part of this team. This is the best team I’ve ever played on.”

The defense the U.S. had relied on so heavily throughout the tournament couldn’t handle the Brits’ big three of Terry Bywater, Simon Munn and Jon Pollock. Bywater lit up Team USA for 32 points, Munn dropped 20 points and Pollock finished with 15 points, including two key 3-point baskets that helped put the game out of reach.

For the USA, Joe Chambers (Whitewater, Wis./Davis, Calif.) scored 25 points, Jeremy Lade (Janesville, Wis.) totaled 15 points and Mike Paye (Warren, Mich.) also hit double digits with 10 points.

“Our guys put our hearts on the line,” said Lade. “We tried to fight back as well as we could, but Great Britain was just too good tonight. We’ll keep our heads up and come back strong.”