Canadian men defeat Thailand at wheelchair basketball worlds after opening loss

The Canadian men's team cruised to an 83-55 victory over Thailand on Sunday to improve to 1-1 in Group B play of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) world championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Fresh off a 65-52 loss against Germany on Saturday, Canada was hoping to carry over a stronger performance from the second half.

It started quickly, jumping out to an 18-14 lead, but a subsequent 7-0 run by Thailand flipped the script heading into the second quarter.

Thailand, which defeated Egypt 72-38 on Saturday, was overwhelmed by Canada in the second quarter, getting outscored 22-10 to trail by nine at the half, with Edmonton's Patrick Anderson matching Thailand's point total in the quarter by himself.

Canada didn't look back, with Regina's Nikola Goncin pouring in 16 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter to extend the lead to 22.

WATCH | Goncin, Anderson lead Canada over Thailand:

Goncin rounded out his stat line with five assists and a team-high eight rebounds, while Anderson added 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Colin Higgins of Rothesay, N.B., led all other Canadian scorers with seven points, and also paced Canada with six assists and three steals.

Canada's placing in Group B will be determined in the final round-robin game on Wednesday against Egypt, which suffered a 113-23 drubbing by Germany on Sunday. On Wednesday, the Germans will try to clinch first place in the group when they face Thailand.

WATCH | Canadian men finish strong Saturday but fall short vs. Germany:

All 16 teams participating in the men's tournament will be guaranteed a spot in the men's Final 16 playoff bracket, which begins Thursday.

The Canadian women, coming off a 61-56 win over Brazil on