Bears' title dream is over, snatched away from them last night in one of the most dramatic finales the British League has ever seen.

Sheffield were crowned British League kings thanks to this victory in front of their adoring home fans at Ponds Forge.

It was the second time they had beaten Bears by a two-point margin on home ground in a league season which has kept fans enthralled almost to the final weekend.

That though will come as little consolation to a Brighton team who, justifiably, will believe they should have spoilt the Sheffield party after wiping out a ten-point deficit in yesterday's fourth quarter.

Even overtime was denied them as Ralph Blalock's last gasp shot bounced around the rim and Wilbur Johnson was unable to force in the loose ball.

Coach Nick Nurse reflected for a few quiet moments on the team bus then declared: "I give a hell of a lot of credit to our guys. It was a tremendous effort and they deserved to win but it didn't happen.

"The game plan was a little unorthodox but we thought the way to beat them was by making their big guys drive all night and lock down on their shooters.

"When it came time we played them hard man-to-man down the stretch. To hold that team to 13 points in their own gym in the fourth quarter is a great effort and it is just a shame we couldn't have had a few more roll in for us at the other end.

"I knew if we could stay in the game they would get nervous. We had some hard luck off the rim and we needed some of those to go in for us. It's too bad. That game deserved another five minutes."

Bears have been battling against the odds all season due to injuries, illness and the odd suspension headache but have refused to buckle in their quest for top spot and that resilience was encapsulated in 40 highly-charged minutes.

Even at the final major hurdle, they suffered another injury, with Rico Alderson damaging an ankle in the first half and playing just 21 minutes.

However, the lucky fans who took up Bears' allocation of tickets and those following them via the internet could have no complaints about the effort put in by their favourites.

They out-rebounded Sharks 46-33, hit 20 of 24 free throws but managed just three of 15 three-pointers.

Johnson and Mike Brown had nine boards apiece with Brown also hitting two of their threes in a typically busy display.

It wasn't about stats though. It was about the drama of those final minutes in a contest where victory would have left Bears almost certain to snatch the crown.

They trailed almost throughout, including arrears of 73-63 with seven minutes to go, but then conjured a 14-4 run, culminating in two Johnson free throws, to level the scores with 2:44 to play.

Nerves were fraying in the home team and crowd and that was the stage when Bears will believe they should have finished the job. They had a couple of chances to edge ahead before Justin Phoenix's put-back made it 79-77 with 1:59 to go.

Few people could have predicted then that that would be the final score.

Randy Duck missed on a fast break under all sorts of pressure from Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart blocked a close range Johnson effort before Duck's steal off Rob Yanders gave Bears 16 seconds to save themselves.

Blalock got off a shot which bounced agonisingly away from the rim with Johnson denied a finishing touch by Stewart's intervention.

It could not have been much more heartbreaking for the visitors, with a standing ovation from home fans not much consolation.

Sterling Davis said: "It was an opportunity of a lifetime. Everybody would want to be in that position but you have got to be able to pull it off at the end and we didn't do that."

Sharks: Phoenix 20, Yanders 14, Reiking 14, Stewart 10, Scantlebury 7, Williams 6, Payne 5, McKinney 3.

Bears: Davis 19, Duck 18, Brown 15, Johnson 12, Blalock 11, Alderson 2.

Quarter scores: 30-22, 15-19, 21-16, 13-20.