Mike Brown admits he is starting to get a bit of deja vu on European nights.

Brighton Bears have become accustomed to winning in recent years, making their four successive ULEB Cup defeats something of a culture shock.

For Brown, and longer-serving fans, however, the troubles they are experiencing in Europe have echoes of a few years ago, when they were bottom of the British League.

The ULEB Cup is, of course, a whole new level to losing to Derby Storm.

But digging a massive hole, coming close to a fightback, then being pipped in the closing stages? Brown has seen it all before.

He was nodding and smiling even before the end of the question when asked: "Does this remind you of a few years ago in the league?"

The answer: "Yes it does, but it is still a good experience for me and the guys in the team. We keep plugging away.

"Every game we start badly and somehow turn it around.

"We've got to start well and play for 40 minutes.

"A lot of us say 'Let's play for 40 minutes' and we only manage 37. It's just getting over that barrier."

Bears remain convinced they can start winning in Group F, and the introduction of big Olumide Oyedeji inside should boost their chances.

There has, though, been a concerning trend in their home games. Matches with Split, Lietuvos Rytas and Sopot have all seen the hosts fall behind early and come back with a rousing second-half effort.

Those deficits, however, are getting bigger, as is the margin which separates Bears from victory at the final buzzer.

Against Split, they were 11 points down, nine up and had two possessions to win the game.

Against Lietuvos Rytas, they were 15 adrift and had one chance to force overtime or even hit a winning three-pointer.

On Tuesday, the arrears reached 17 points and, though they got back to within one, Sopot then saw the game out effectively for an 11-point win.

They may not have been a bundle of laughs but the Poles were, on and off the court, the most professional outfit Bears have come across.

Brown was nodding in agreement when Nurse said Sopot were the best team Bears had faced this season.

Given his chance to expand, Brown admitted the Poles had been a little more streetwise when it really mattered.

He said: "Throughout the whole game we thought we could win and once the big guy (Tomas Masiulis) fouled out we felt we had them.

"We lost mindset a bit. We took a quick three-pointer which in theory maybe we shouldn't have done. Maybe we should have run some offence.

"The game goes so fast and at that time I felt we rushed our possessions instead of making them play defence.

"When they came down, even when the shot clock was running down, they were still trying to run a play. That's their experience in Europe."

Sopot were justified in looking upon the win as a very good result away from home, despite those wobbles which almost saw them lose a 17-point lead.

This is an awkward time for them, having lost centre Kebu Stewart to Estudiantes and not had his replacement Richard Lugo cleared for action.

But then size is one area where Bears, for all the endeavour of Kendrick Warren, Jason Siemon and Andrew Alleyne, have struggled at times in this campaign.

Take the example of Ionikos and their back-up big man Jurika Zuza, who plundered 16 points off Brighton but has hardly been a factor in other games.

It would be wrong to get too gloomy about Bears' Euro campaign. The games have ranged from the intriguing to the thrilling, certainly a step up on what you see on the BBL scene.

There has not been a contest which has not featured an ex-NBA man or players with top European experience.

Nor has there been a possession which has not been hotly disputed, even in the last seconds of Bears' two 11-point defeats.

All that might be lost on stayway fans who do not see past the scorelines or their local side's league placing.

The fact remains that, if Bears could get a couple of wins, it would be a couple more than anyone across Europe expected But that first success is proving so hard to come by.