by State Journal staff , Wisconsin State Journal

"It definitely feels good to see your team go out there and play well against a high-caliber team and get a good victory," said Thompson, who finished 8-for-10 from the field. "It helps build our confidence as a team."

Marquette forward Lazar Hayward and Washington forward Quincy Pondexter added 13 points apiece for the U.S., which improved to 3-0 under University of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.

"They gave us their best in the first half," said Ryan, whose team outscored the Greeks 64-38 in the second half after leading by just five points at halftime.

"In the second half, once we made our push, we got them out of any rhythm they could establish. The rest of the game we were pretty much in control, but in the first 20 minutes, they did the things that make them so good. If we didn't shut that off, we were going to be in trouble. But our guys did what we needed to do, we responded better. We got them in foul trouble in certain positions, and that helped us quite a bit.

"We got on the glass, and didn't turn the ball over, so we were getting shots every time down. All the fundamental things that you need to do to beat a team, we did, especially in the last 20 minutes."

West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler - who finished with a team-high seven rebounds - and Oklahoma State's James Anderson pitched in with 10 points apiece for the U.S., which shot 60 percent from the field (42-for-70) and outrebounded Greece 43-22.

"I think we had more energy," Anderson said. "Right there at the end of the first half, we started picking up our energy and started coming together and getting defensive stops. That carried over to the second half, and that's what changed the game."

The Americans play Serbia (3-0) today, then face Bulgaria or Latvia in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

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