USA Defeat France 115-84 to Begin FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup Group Phase

27 June 2026

USA 115, FRA 84

The USA (1-0) opened the 2026 FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup with a XXX-XXX victory over France (0-1) in Istanbul. Tonight’s game marked the USA Basketball competitive debuts for Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, NaVorro Bowman Jr., JJ Crawford, Cayden Daughtry, Asa Montgomery and Xavier Young.

Following the victory, the USA moved to 4-0 against France and 52-0 all time in FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup play.

The USA will continue Group A competition with matchups against Japan on June 28 at 7:45 a.m. ET and Italy on June 30 at 5 a.m. ET.

View the USA-France box score here.

POSTGAME NOTES

Starting Out: To begin their quest for an eighth straight gold medal at the FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup, the red, white and blue saw Beckham Black, Boumtje Boumtje, Erick Dampier Jr., Jordan Page and CJ Rosser start the contest. Four of the five U.S. starters bring gold medal experience from the 2025 FIBA U16 Men’s AmeriCup in Juarez, Mexico.

Blazing Beginning: The U.S. jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, with Black cashing on 2 3-pointers to buoy the American run. Following a 1-for-8 start from the field, the French would claw back to make it a one-point game before the U.S. eventually held a 26-15 advantage at the end of the first period.

Black continued his hot start through the rest of the first half, heading into the locker room with a team-best 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-6 3FG) as the USA took a commanding 57-35 lead.

Game Within the Game: The Americans ultimately dominated the French in every facet of the game with sizable advantages in rebounds (46-27), points off turnovers (30-14; 19 FRA miscues), fastbreak points (38-11), second chance points (37-12) and points in the paint (56-38).

From the field, the U.S. shot 55.6% (45-81 FG, 12-29 3FG) while making 13 more shots than France, who shot 50.0% (32-64 FG, 11-27 3FG).

Back in Black: Black led the way throughout the victory, scoring a game-high 23 points (9-14 FG, 5-9 3FG) while adding 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. With 5 3s, he became the first American with 5+ makes from downtown at the competition since David Castillo (6 3FG) did so against Lebanon in 2022.

Balanced Attack: Six Americans reached double-figure scoring in the contest, with all 12 players recording points. Seven players knocked down a 3-pointer, part of 12 total 3s for the stars and stripes. The outside shooting barrage was one shy of tying the all-time U.S. 3-point mark (13, vs. CHN, 7/2/24).