USA 97, Bahamas 74
View the USA-Bahamas box score here.
The USA (3-1) concluded the second window of 2025 FIBA Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying with a 97-74 win over the Bahamas (1-3) in Washington D.C. The Americans improve to 3-1 in 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying after going 1-1 in a home-home series with Cuba in February.
With the win, USA Basketball improved to 3-0 over the Bahamas in AmeriCup Qualifying (5-0 all-time in senior national team play) and 8-1 all-time in FIBA Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying.
USA will travel to Puerto Rico and the Bahamas in February for the final qualifying window. The top three teams in each of four groups (12 in total) will qualify for the 2025 FIBA Men’s AmeriCup Aug. 23-31, 2025, in Managua, Nicaragua.
The USA is now in first place of Group D and on the brink of qualification. In the event of a tie atop the group between teams with the same win-loss record, the higher points difference in games between them will be used as a tiebreaker.
From the Jump: For the second game, Robert Covington, Frank Kaminsky, Javonte Smart, David Stockton and Paul Watson got the start for the USA. All 12 players appeared in both games over the weekend.
Going Deep: After hitting 17 shots from 3-point range in Friday’s win over Puerto Rico, the USA hit 15 against the Bahamas (15-36 3FG, .417). Despite starting slow in the first half (6-20, .300), the USA returned to form with 9 second half 3s.
Lock Down D: The United States buckled down on defense in the second half to give up just 33 points, including 11 in the third quarter. For the game, the Bahamas shot 39.4% (26-66 FG, 7-20 3FG) from the floor. The USA, who led by as many as 28, scored 21 points off 16 turnovers.
Put Me in, Coach: The USA bench helped propel the USA’s offense, outscoring the Bahamas reserves by a tally of 35-12. Coming off the bench, Jahmi’us Ramsey led the way with 19 points (7-9 FG, 4-5 3FG, 1-1 FT), including a game-high 13 first half points (5-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-1 FT).
Ramsey picked up where he left on Friday, when he had 18 points. Appearing in all four 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying games, Ramsey is averaging 17.8 points.
Ramsey was one of five Americans with 10+ points including Smart (21), Kaminsky and Stockton (14) and Watson (10).
Pretty Brilliant: Smart, who made his USA Basketball debut Friday, led the team in scoring for the weekend. Tonight, he totaled a game-best 21points (8-12 FG, 3-7 3FG, 2-4 FT) in a game-high 28:32, including 12 in the second half.
In Friday’s game vs. Puerto Rico, Smart had a game-high 20 points (7-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 4-5 FT), 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 23 minutes. Smart is the fourth American to score 20+ points in AmeriCup Qualifying and first to enjoy two 20-point outings.
Smart was one of four Americans with 10+ points including Ramsey (18), Covington (15) and Kaminsky (10).
What's Next
2025 FIBA Men's AmeriCup Qualifying | USA vs. Puerto Rico | Feb. 20 (time TBD)
A game recap will be published on usab.com.