Nick Nurse could be heading for a showdown with the British Basketball League after a refereeing rumpus erupted at the Triangle.

Genesis Brighton Bears went down in controversial style to a Chester Jets side with whom they are competing for a play-off spot.

Bears were furious at officials Chris Mills and Ian Green after seeing their visitors go to the free throw line 43 times to the hosts' 19.

Chester shot ten free throws inside the first four minutes of the contest to set the tone.

And the hosts were whistled for the first eight fouls of the fourth quarter, on the way to a final foul count of 27-18, as Jets used a flurry of 12 free throw attempts in four-and-a-half minutes to stretch a onepoint edge into an 81-71 lead.

It was the second time in two nights Bears had been left complaining about refereeing at key times.

Coach Phil Waghorn felt Guildford Heat got four crucial decisions in the final period of their 94-91 win over Bears on Friday.

And there is a strong suspicion among many squad members, not least Nurse himself, that the club are being made to pay for their coach's comments about the league after they were found guilty of fielding too many work permit players when they brought in Dennis Rodman.

Nurse will ask the league for confirmation that is not the case.

He watched from the sidelines on Saturday and initially appeared keen to keep a low profile, arriving after tip-off and staying away from the team bench.

A statement over his future plans, due on Friday, has not yet been forthcoming, though he is still considering an appeal over Bears' three-point penalty and is undecided as to whether his days as BBL head coach are over.

But he was infuriated by on-court events on Saturday and had a lively meeting with referees' assessor Mick Howell after the game Bears, playing their fourth game in five nights, were not at their best but would have expected to beat a lowly Chester outfit.

Instead, they became increasingly frustrated, culminating in a technical for skipper Andrew Alleyne, taking him to four fouls, when he booted the ball away in the fourth quarter after being adjudged to have caught Billy Singleton.

Alleyne admitted: "I was frustrated, angry. There are so many different things.

"The officiating wasn't good but we didn't really play well.

We gave away a lot of easy layups. "Of course I regret kicking the ball away but at that point of time I was just angry. It was another way of getting my frustration out but of course I regret it now."

Bears felt double standards applied when the two teams went to the basket and were baffled by several decisions at their own end of the floor.

They had trouble protecting their own defensive rebounds and stopping Jets inside, which may have been down to the early foul count or just poor defence. Refereeing of the three-second rule was also an issue.

Even so, it looked like they might salvage a win after Jerry Williams awoke from a fourpoint first half to score 15 in the third quarter.

Bears, trailing 46-40 at half-time, had an 8-0 run to lead briefly late in the third but a three-pointer from Phil Gilbert gave Jets a 68-66 advantage at the final break.

Demaija Stewart, who had a useful game coming off the bench, hit a three to lift the hosts early in the fourth before Jets went on a decisive 9-0 run, mainly from the free throw line.

Chester had attacking threats in Gilbert, who hit ten successive points in the second period, and Shawn Myers.

Singleton played the full 40 minutes and knew how to be effective, even after moving to four fouls with 3:40 to play in the third quarter.

And veteran coach Mike Burton did a good job, switching to a triangle-and-two defence which allowed Singleton to be protected in a zone set-up while two designated harriers went man-to-man on Bears' shooters.

The visitors played their role well.

But Bears, and Nurse, will take some convincing the visitors did not receive undue assistance.