Bears 82 Leopards 81: Skipper Randy Duck insists his Brighton Bears can learn their lesson after coming within inches of losing their league leadership last night.

Duck hit the winning free throw with 3.5 seconds to play as Bears held on for an 82-81 win over lowly Essex Leopards before a stunned Brighton Centre crowd.

Leopards, who led for just 20 seconds in the game and were 20 points down at one stage, could have won it when Sly McIntosh's potential buzzer beater hit the rim and stayed out.

Victory means Bears are nine wins from the British League crown but Duck admitted his side can forget the title if they switch off in any of their remaining games.

The captain, who was handed the ball on Bears' final possession and was fouled by McIntosh as he drove to the rim, said: "If we're going to make a serious run of winning all these games these are the ones we've got to take care of.

"Leopards could have hit that shot at the buzzer and we would have deserved to lose.

"We all came together on court at the end and everyone had the same thing to say.

"That was 'We will get beat if we don't finish games off. Let's not start that trend'."

Leopards hit 21 of 24 free throws, including ten-of-ten for Sylvester McIntosh, while Bears missed ten of 22, including three in the dying moments.

Unusually, the leaders were also hammered on the boards with David Fisher and Marshall Sanders claiming 14 rebounds apiece.

Bears continue to lead the table by the most slender of margins after Sheffield beat Milton Keynes 102-74 last night.

A similar landslide was on the cards for Bears when Duck's three-pointer put them 56-36 clear with 7:32 to play in the third quarter.

They were coasting at that point, with Ralph Blalock hitting three threes in the first quarter and the lead reaching 50-32 at the half.

Fisher's only field goal success in nine attempts sparked a 15-2 Leopards run and, with Yorick Williams and McIntosh having their best games of the season against the Bears, the lead was gradually reduced.

Duck was left wide open for a three as Bears led 67-58 at the final interval and Wilbur Johnson's tip-in from a Rico Alderson miss stretched the gap to six with 4:25 to play.

Williams, though, wiped that out in an 8-2 run sending the sides into the last 40 seconds on level terms.

Sterling Davis, who hit 20 points on five-of-seven two-point shooting, lost control for Bears but Leopards were forced into a shot clock violation, giving Duck the ball with 9.5 seconds on the clock.

Even when he went to the line, his first free throw missed, but the second was good and coach Nick Nurse could breathe a sigh of relief.

He said: "Winning in this league has never been easy and that was the case tonight.

"Whether or not we learn our lesson is to be seen.

"I thought Leopards were good, they were physical and that's the most fouls we have given away all season."

Blalock, who gave Bears a scare when he went down in agony with a muscle spasm in the first quarter, is all clear for Sunday's trip to Thames Valley.

Wilbur Johnson is also expected to be 100 per cent after playing despite a bout of food poisoning last night.

Bears: Davis 20, Blalock 19, Duck 17, Alderson 14, Johnson 10, M. Brown 2.

Leopards: McIntosh 26, R. Brown 19, Williams 16, Sanders 14, Fisher 4, Webster 2.