Wilbur Johnson has warned Brighton Bears he may leave if he is not convinced the club can launch a genuine play-off challenge next season.

Johnson, speaking after struggling Bears' much-needed 70-64 inter-conference victory over Edinburgh Rocks at Burgess Hill on Saturday, insisted he cannot put up with another losing season.

The star 6ft 9in centre, who has averaged more than 18 points and nearly nine rebounds per game since moving to Bears following a three-year spell with Sheffield, has impressed in a disappointing campaign.

He said: "I wouldn't mind coming back, but only if I knew we were committed to making a play-off run. If not, I may have to look elsewhere.

"There's no fun losing. I don't think I could go through back-to-back seasons doing the same thing. This year has hurt enough for me.

"But if I see there are to be some improvements made to the team and also in other areas I would consider coming back."

Bears have not made the play-offs for five years and it has been a particularly tough experience for Johnson, who had never previously been with a struggling team.

He said: "Hopefully I can be with the team next year and help them break the run.

"We've had a disappointing season, but we want to end it positively and get some momentum for next year."

Johnson admitted it was difficult to pinpoint Bears' main failing this season and felt everyone must take some blame for the team's paltry five wins.

He said: "There hasn't been one particular reason but we haven't been good enough as an organisation. All the pieces are there but it hasn't clicked yet."

Bears' scrappy win over Edinburgh was their second at home in the championship and comes after 14 defeats in their previous 15 games.

Demetric Reese led all scorers with 22 points to pour on the agony for Edinburgh, who are bottom of the northern conference, having lost every away match so far.

Coach Mark Dunning said: "We made hard work of it, but we also played well in parts which I'm pleased about."

Bears scorers: Demetric Reese 22, Wilbur Johnson 15, Kevin Wallace 12, Dave Wahl 9, Michael Brown 7, Danny Hildreth 5.

Bears were unable to build on Saturday's win at Milton Keynes Lions yesterday when they went down 78-72.

At several points the prospect of back to back victories beckoned for Bears, but the chances were thrown away after they had gone into the final quarter 60-57 ahead.

Brighton, eight points adrift at the bottom of the Southern Conference, led by eight before the hosts fought back strongly. After Bears' Wilbur Johnson hit a free throw to tie the scores at 66-66, Lions produced a 10-0 run to effectively close out the game.

Bears scorers: Johnson 21, Reese 16, Brown 14, Wallace 8, Hildreth 5, Seaman 4, Wahl 4.