Basketball

Oregon basketball players accused of shoplifting — Authorities say Oregon basketball players Elgin Cook and Jalil Abdul-Bassit were caught shoplifting at a grocery store near Matthew Knight Arena. Eugene Police Department spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin told The Register-Guard newspaper that the players were arrested Sept. 12. Because the goods totaled less than $100, they were cited for misdemeanor theft. McLaughlin said she doesn’t know when they will appear in court. Coach Dana Altman said in a statement Saturday he’s disappointed with the players, and they were disciplined immediately. He did not reveal the specific punishment given by the university or basketball program. Cook is a junior forward and Abdu-Bassit is a senior guard. Both were reserves last season. The arrests come about six months after three other basketball players were investigated for sexual assault. Though the players were not charged with a crime, the university expelled them.

U.S. women beat Aussies to reach worlds final — Tina Charles scored 18 points and Maya Moore added 16 to help the U.S. beat Australia 82-70 on Saturday night in Istanbul in the semifinals of the women’s world championship. The U.S. will face Spain in the gold-medal game today. Spain beat host Turkey 66-56 for its first trip to the championship game. The Spanish team won a bronze medal at the 2010 worlds. The Americans had to work hard for this victory — as is usually the case when these powers in women’s basketball meet. The U.S. won its first four games of the tournament by an average of almost 48 points but couldn’t put pesky Australia away until the fourth quarter. A night after the U.S. shot a team record 71 percent in a win over France, the Americans had a tougher time against Australia. The game got off to a relatively slow start, with more fouls in the first few minutes than points. Brittney Griner, who had been so good through the tournament’s first four games, picked up two fouls in six minutes and was benched for most of the half.

Golf

Watson takes responsibility for Ryder Cup loss — Tom Watson took the blame Saturday for his communication with his players in another American loss at the Ryder Cup, and the 65-year-old captain said he called Phil Mickelson earlier this week to clear the air. “I regret that my words may have made the players feel that I didn’t appreciate their commitment and dedication to winning the Ryder Cup,” Watson said in a statement issued through the PGA of America. “My intentions throughout my term as captain were both to inspire and to be honest.” Mickelson indirectly called out Watson in an awkward press conference after Europe’s 16 1⁄2-11 1⁄2 victory, the eighth out of the past 10 times it has won the cup. Mickelson said the Americans have strayed from a winning formula they had under Paul Azinger in 2008. Watson was sitting in the middle of his 12 players and said he had a different philosophy. The statement was issued one day after an ESPN report citing four unidentified people who were in the U.S. team room on the night before the final round.

Tennis

Djokovic holds off Murray for 23rd China Open win — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic reached his fifth China Open final and improved his spotless record at the tournament to 23-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Andy Murray on Saturday in Beijing. In the women’s draw, Maria Sharapova overcame eight double-faults, including four as she served for the match, to defeat Ana Ivanovic 6-0, 6-4. She will take on Petra Kvitova in the final after the Czech player beat Samantha Stosur 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. It was Djokovic’s third win over Murray this year and came just weeks after the Serb knocked him out of the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in a hard-fought, 3½-hour match. Saturday’s semifinal didn’t quite reach the same level of quality — the two combined for 43 unforced errors and only 26 winners — but Djokovic proved the steadier player at the key moments and saved four of five break points he faced in the second set.

Hockey

Islanders acquire Leddy, Boychuk, Simpson — The New York Islanders acquired defenseman Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk and goalie prospect Kent Simpson in trades Saturday. The Islanders got Leddy and Simpson from Chicago for defensemen T.J. Brennan and Ville Pokka and the rights to restricted free-agent goalie Anders Nilsson. New York acquired Boychuk from Boston for 2015 and 2016 second-round draft picks and a conditional third-round pick. The 23-year-old Leddy had seven goals and 24 assists in 82 games for Chicago last season. Selected by Minnesota in the first round in 2009 and traded to Chicago in February 2010, he had 20 goals and 73 assists in 258 games in four seasons with the Blackhawks.

— From wire reports