Brighton Bears weathered a one-man supershow on Tyneside last night and took a significant step towards the British League title.

Bears beat in-form Newcastle Eagles 109-96 at the Metro Radio Arena, despite 44 points from Jerry Hyatt, the highest score in the league this season.

The team work, inside presence and defensive steel which have been the hallmark of Bears' march to top spot were in evidence again as they marched six points clear.

Big men Andrew Alleyne and Kendrick Warren scored key early points, then, as defensive help ar rived close to the basket for Eagles, Mike Brown and Yorick Williams took the chance to unleash a series of three-pointers.

Bears also battled well at their own end, notably in a key second quarter which they won 30-16.

Coach Nick Nurse was delighted as he began the long trek home by bus.

He said: "This is a quality win for us. We know we are a touch above these teams and we proved it here.

"We got a lot of dunks and lay-ups early in the game and there were five or six really good offensive performances.

"Hyatt was awesome for them and we couldn't stop him but we did a lot of good things as well."

Bears sank seven three-pointers in 11 attempts in the first half and a 13-5 finish to the second quarter helped them go 58-43 clear. Eagles never cut arrears below eight points from then on.

Bears will enjoy today off before a light training session tomorrow and the BBL Trophy final on Saturday. Randy Duck remains a doubt for the weekend, which also includes a trip to Scottish Rocks. He did not play last night.