BBL Championship Play-off Semi-Final
Brighton Bears 88 (23, 48, 61) (Davis 24, Johnson 19, Alderson 18)
Newcastle Eagles 83 (20, 43, 61) (Arinze 30)

Brighton Bears battled, fought and scrapped their way into the BBL play-off final on Saturday night, holding off a determined Newcastle Eagles 88-83 at the NIA.

The south coast side won the battle of the boards by some distance with Rico Alderson adding 14 points to his 18 points, helped by Wil Johnson.

"We knew we couldn't give them second chances because they're a great shooting team," said the Bears centre. "That was key for us."

Newcastle led 39-38 at half-time but failed to hold their nerve from the foul line in the closing stages.

Cup winners Brighton took control in the third quarter to grab a double digit cushion but Fab Flournoy's men stormed back to trail by just one point entering the final period.

Yet although Newcastle were only three points in arrears with 90 seconds left but Niki Arinze failed to convert two free throws to leave his tally stuck on a game-best 30 points.

However the fate of the Tyneside outfit was sealed when Sterling Davis fired a pressure three-pointer from the cornerto make it 84-78 and when he stole the ball off Andy Mavis and returned it for a clinching dunk, it only added further lustre to the result. 

The All-Star led his side with 24 with Nurse now relishing a chance to repeat his success with Manchester of 2000.

"You always have to get to a final to win one," he said. "I don't think we played very well but we got it done."