COLLEGE PARK, Georgia (AP) — MarJon Beauchamp scored 26 points, Kyle Guy added 17 and the U.S. had no trouble on the way to a 123-93 win over Nicaragua on Monday night to move to 2-0 in qualifying for the 2027 Basketball World Cup.
Brandon Knight had 16 points and 12 assists, while Jaden Shackelford added 11 for the Americans — who beat the Nicaraguans twice in a four-day span by a combined 65 points. Kessler Edwards added 14 points for the U.S.
Beauchamp scored a total of 50 points in the two games.
Jared Ruiz led all scorers Monday with 36 points for Nicaragua, while Norchad Omier finished with 20 points and 20 rebounds.
World Cup qualifying is held over six different two-game windows and runs through March 2027. The tournament is in the summer of 2027 in Doha, Qatar, and the U.S. needs to finish among the top seven teams in the FIBA Americas region to qualify.
These two wins get that quest off to the optimal start.
The U.S. and Nicaragua are in Group A of the Americas Region for the opening stage of qualifying, along with Mexico and the Dominican Republic. They will all play home and away over the coming months, and there are four groups of four teams for the opening round of Americas qualifying.
That collection of 16 teams will get pared down to 12 for the second round.
The U.S. next plays against the Dominican Republic on Feb. 26.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
We're excited to announce our India Community Travel in Spring 2026! Join this virtual Zoom … Read moreTravel to India Information Session (Online)
“A dazzling delight for all ages” Read moreRodger's & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Join us for Bay Area Youth Ballet's magical holiday tradition as The Nutcracker comes to lif… Read moreThe Nutcracker Presented By Bay Area Youth Ballet
Dirk van Ulden said:
Mike Caggiano said:
Mike Caggiano said:
Mike Harris said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.