USA Record 123-93 World Cup Qualifying Victory Over Nicaragua

02 December 2025

USA 123, NCA 93

The USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Window 1 Team took the court tonight in College Park, Georgia, for the second of two games vs. Nicaragua. The USA (2-0) defeated Nicaragua (0-2) 123-93 at The Gateway Center Arena. The USA also defeated Nicaragua 102-67 Friday in Managua, Nicaragua.

The first window of FIBA World Cup Qualifying concludes with the U.S. going 2-0. USA Basketball will host Dominican Republic and Mexico in the second window of FIBA World Cup Qualifying in February in Oceanside, California.

View the USA-Nicaragua box score here.

POSTGAME NOTES

Deck the Halls: The U.S. came on strong in the second quarter to take control of the game. The Americans led 26-25 at the end of the first 10 minutes. They used a 34-21 advantage in the second quarter to hold a 60-46 halftime lead. At the half, USA were shooting 57.9% (22-38 FG, 6-17 3FG) from the field while holding Nicaragua to 37.1% (13-35 FG, 3-11 3FG). The lead was up to 21 points, 90-71, by the end of the third quarter with the U.S. doubling their made 3-pointers to 12 with 6 makes in the quarter.

Stocking Stuffer: MarJon Beauchamp was the USA’s leading scorer for the two-game window. He averaged 25.0 points, including a team-high 26 tonight (9-13 FG, 5-8 3FG, 3-3 FT). He connected on 9 3-pointers for the weekend and shot 69.2% from the field (18-26 FG, 9-14 3FG). His two-game total of 50 points and average of 25.0 points are the most in USA World Cup Qualifying history (dating back to 2019). John Jenkins scored 48 points in two games in August 2022.

Beauchamp led a team that set a USA World Cup Qualifying record across two games as they scored 225 points (112.5 ppg), recording 25 more than the August 2022 squad that had 200 points in a pair of contests.

In the Spirit: Brandon Knight (15.0 ppg) and Kyle Guy (14.0 ppg) were the other players with double-figure averages across two games. Knight, with 16 points tonight, also led the team in assists, setting a USA single-game World Cup Qualifying record with 12 (previously 10, twice). His 17 total assists set a USA World Cup Qualifying two-game record (previously 16, Travis Trice, Feb. 2019).

The More the Merrier: Bench contributions featured for the U.S. in both games. After contributing 40 in Friday’s game, the reserves recorded 26 points by halftime and had 63 for the game. The reserves were led by Guy’s 17, Kessler Edwards’ 14 and Jaden Shackelford’s 11. On the contrary, Nicaragua’s bench totaled 29 points during the window.

Scrooged: Capitalizing on turnovers were a major factor in tonight’s win with the red, white and blue scoring 30 points on 20 Nicaragua miscues. In Game 1, the U.S. scored 24 points of 21 turnovers.

Tis the Season: As previously announced, the USA will compete in six World Cup Qualifying windows from November 2025 to March 2027. In total, 80 national teams will compete for one of 32 berths – with seven teams coming from FIBA Americas – to the 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

Under the current qualifying format, which dates back to the 2019 World Cup, USA Basketball has compiled a 21-5 record and has finished atop their respective group in both 2019 and 2023. The USA are winners of two of the last four FIBA World Cups (2010, 2014).