LOS ANGELES — The UCLA basketball team is heading back to Los Angeles without three players arrested on shoplifting charges in China, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were to remain in Hangzhou, China, while the rest of the team was due back Saturday night. Ball is the brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball.
UCLA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by the AP.
No. 21 UCLA won its season-opening game 63-60 over Georgia Tech in Shanghai earlier Saturday.
The trio was questioned by police about allegedly stealing from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team’s hotel in Hangzhou last week, where the Bruins visited before leaving for Shanghai.
Citing a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation, ESPN reports the players could be Hangzhou for “a week or two” while the situation is resolved. The source told ESPN there is surveillance footage of the players shoplifting from three stores inside a high-end retail center.
Bruins coach Steve Alford declined to discuss the matter after the team’s victory. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, athletic director Dan Guerrero and Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott have been traveling with the team, but only Scott has issued any statements.
“It has provided a real distraction and unwanted publicity, which distracts from what overall has been a tremendous experience and a tremendous week for the UCLA and Georgia Tech students,” Scott said before the game. “We’ve had a chance to apologize for the unwelcome attention it has brought. There’s nothing new. We’re monitoring the situation and staying in close contact with the students, and we hope the situation resolves itself soon.”
The conference said Friday that California and Yale will meet in next year’s Pac-12 China game to open the 2018-19 season.
Saturday’s Top 25
DUKE 99, UTAH VALLEY 69
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski became the first men’s Division I coach to win 1,000 games at one school Saturday night when his top-ranked Blue Devils beat Utah Valley behind 24 points and 10 rebounds from freshman Marvin Bagley III.
Grayson Allen added 18 points for Duke (2-0) while three other freshmen also had big nights: Trevon Duval had 15 points and 12 assists, Gary Trent Jr. added 17 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 12.
Each of Duke’s first 40 points was scored by a freshman, including every single one during the 27-8 run midway through the first half that gave the Blue Devils a comfortable lead.
Akolda Manyang had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah Valley (0-2).
No. 14 Notre Dame 72, DePaul 58
CHICAGO — T.J. Gibbs scored 21 points to lead Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams.
Bonzie Colson had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Matt Farrell added 15 points for the Irish.
Eli Cain and Tre’Darius McCallum scored 14 points apiece for DePaul. Max Strus added 11 points and Devin Gage had 10.
The Irish made 9 of 12 3-point attempts after halftime. They hit 12 of 27 from beyond the arc overall and shot 47.2 percent from the field to DePaul’s 33.8 percent.
No. 22 Saint Mary’s 85, Saint Francis (Pa.) 68
MORAGA, Calif. — Calvin Hermanson scored 24 points and sparked a pair of big runs with his 3-point shooting for Saint Mary’s.
Jock Landale had 13 points and eight rebounds, Evan Fitzner added 10 points and Emmett Naar scored eight with a career-high 12 assists to help Saint Mary’s to its 16th consecutive season-opening win.
Jamaal King had 15 points, Isaiah Blackmon scored 12 and Keith Braxton added 10 for the Red Flash, who last beat a ranked team in 1959.