Basketball: Duck on song as Bears march on

Brighton Bears extended their perfect start to the BBL Championship to five games by defeating first Newcastle Eagles 119-99 on Saturday, then Leicester Riders 117-99 in Loughborough last night.

Randy Duck, with a BBL season-high 40 points, and Ralph Blalock, against his former club, shared six three-pointers in the first quarter to establish a lead that the Riders never threatened.

Thames Valley Tigers are second after two free throws from Martin Gottfried secured a 114-112 overtime win last night against the Eagles, who have lost their last three games.

Sheffield Sharks lost an 18-point lead against Birmingham Bullets on Saturday at the Aston Events Centre, but are third after holding on for a 73-68 victory. This despite seeing the Bullets battle their way back into the game with runs of 16-6 in the third quarter and 20-9 in the fourth.

The Bears are now three wins ahead of the champions Chester Jets, who lost their third game out of four on Friday with a 98-96 overtime defeat against Milton Keynes Lions.

Newcastle were overwhelmed by a 41-point third quarter from Brighton on Saturday. Duck led Brighton with 32 points but also played a key role in subduing TJ Walker.

Walker scored a three-pointer on the buzzer at Thames Valley last night to force the extra period at 99-99, but the home side hit back to win.