UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic was arrested Friday afternoon on allegations of misdemeanor battery, forcing him to miss the Bruins’ exhibition game against Biola.
The junior from Serbia lives with his girlfriend off campus, and the two are currently going through a breakup of their relationship, coach Ben Howland said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Dragovic returned to his apartment to pick up his belongings, only to find them already put outside. The two broke out into an argument in which Dragovic “allegedly pushed the woman to the floor.”
Howland said that he was notified of the arrest at 6 p.m., an hour and a half before tip-off.
“It’s been unfortunate,” Howland said.
“I speak very highly of (her); she’s a great kid, Nikola’s a great kid. I’m sure everything will be rectified and I’m very confident everything will end up being rectified soon.”
Howland said that he does not know all of the facts at this time and will wait until he does before enforcing any kind of disciplinary action.
“It’s definitely disappointing, obviously,” Howland said.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported Saturday that Dragovic was released early Saturday morning on $20,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 4.
BRUINS WIN FINAL EXHIBITION GAME: After a first half that was closer than many may have expected, the Bruins pulled away with a strong second half to defeat the Biola Eagles 76-42 in the team’s last exhibition game on Friday night.
Senior point guard Darren Collison led the team with 14 points. Three other Bruins scored in double figures ““ freshman guard Jrue Holiday (11), junior guard/forward Michael Roll (11), and senior forward Josh Shipp (10).
The Eagles kept the game close throughout the first half, cutting the Bruin lead to three, 28-25, with 4:52 left to play in the half. At halftime, the Bruins led 38-27 and shot 51.7 percent from the field, yet allowed the Eagles to shoot 40.7 percent. In the second half, the Bruins put the Eagles away with a suffocating defensive performance, limiting the team to 15 second-half points on 21.9 percent shooting.
“Well, I thought Biola was a good team for us to play tonight and it really showed, especially in the first half,” Howland said. “They were very patient, really forced us to play long possessions of defense. We extended our defense pretty far out there and got beat a number of times, something we’ve got to get better at or else back off the pressure.”
Following the game, Howland was quick to point out that senior center Alfred Aboya did not commit a foul in 23 minutes. It has been a point of emphasis for Aboya not to commit fouls, who has shown a propensity to foul in his three years here. On Monday against California Baptist, Aboya picked up two quick fouls in the first three minutes of the game.
“Even when he played the first five minutes (and) I took him out of the game, it was great to have him come out after his first five minutes and not have a foul,” Howland said. “Believe me, that’s key. You could see, though, that our lack of size inside as we play better teams with more size is going to be a factor and we’re going to have to utilize our bench.”
Aboya said that in order to discourage committing fouls, the whole team runs if he fouls in practice.
“Once you get fouls, you put your foot on the brake as far as your aggressiveness is concerned,” Aboya said. “Not having a foul allowed me to play as hard. I think it will help the whole team in the long run. It’s something I need to focus on the whole year, not getting a foul, because my team needs me on the floor.”
Holiday turned in another solid performance ““ 11 points, one assist and four rebounds ““ and brought the crowd off its feet with an alley-oop dunk from Shipp.
“After I dunked it, I heard the crowd, and it calmed me down a little bit,” Holiday said.
The Bruins begin the regular season on Wednesday when they face Prairie View A&M in the first round of the 2K Sports Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.