MarJon Beauchamp's 26 points lead US to a 123-93 win over Nicaragua in World Cup qualifying

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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.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports