IN BRIEF : Arrest Sidelines UNR’s Owens

RENO —  Darryl Owens of Nevada-Reno, the Big Sky Conference’s leading scorer, apparently will miss the conference basketball tournament that starts Thursday after being suspended following his arrest on a misdemeanor battery charge.

Owens is free on $265 bail after being arrested Monday on the complaint filed by a woman identified as his former girlfriend.

UNR coach Len Stevens announced the indefinite suspension at a news conference, praising Owens’ leadership but saying he could not be an exception because of his basketball talents.

The incident involving the woman allegedly occurred in the Stead area north of Reno and while few details are available, university spokesman Bob Gabrielli said the woman was not injured.

Owens is averaging 22.7 points a game this year to lead the Big Sky by a fraction over the 22.5-point average of Weber State’s Rico Washington.