Howard Thompkins, a rising sophomore at the University of Georgia, scored a game-high 22 points to lead Team USA to a 85-69 win over Greece in the FIBA Under-19 World Championships on Monday in Auckland, New Zealand.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Lithonia was good on 10 of 14 shots from the field in just 17 minutes as the U.S. won the first game of the second round and improved to 4-0 overall, according to a report by USA Basketball. Team USA squares off against Puerto Rico (4-1) on Tuesday.
Thompkins, who came into the game averaging 9.3 points during the tournament, said his performance was the result of deciding to play "very aggressive."
"I heard that Greece liked to bump and bang," Thompkins said. "Well, I decided that I was going to be the guy that initiated it first and they were going to have to throw punches back. Coach wants us to start our offense inside out anyway, but we just have such great shooters it just doesn't seem like that sometimes."
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