It was Tommy Smith who hit the nail on the head.

"Is that a stats sheet you got there?" asked the 6ft 10ins would-be Chicago Bulls forward emerging from the changing room after Tuesday's ULEB Cup thriller at the Triangle.

"Can I take a look at it?" He added. "I want to see how many free throws I missed."

The answer was eight out of 17, which was about par for the course on the night.

That, for some people, was a key feature of Brighton Bears' 87-86 overtime defeat to Smith's Split Croatia Insurance.

Bears shot at 56 per cent from the line, Split at 54, both of which were clearly unacceptable.

Look past those figures though and you get an occasion and contest which can rarely have been equalled in the history of Sussex basketball.

Tuesday's game between Nick Nurse's Bears and the up-and-coming young stars of Split had just about everything, including two dramatic finales.

It is has surely whetted the Sussex sporting public's appetite for the the four remaining home games in ULEB Cup qualifying group F.

Basketball fans have not seen too many events like this since the Worthing heydays.

In fact, as an occasion, it bore more resemblance to the first round of the FA Cup than anything we have witnessed on a basketball court recently.

Fans were queueing to enter the Triangle arena well before 7pm for an 8pm tip.

Their number included a few sporting the red and white checks of Croatia.

It took a while for the crowd to really get into the match once the action started and Split carved an early lead.

Andy Gardiner's three-pointer to close the first quarter and tie it up at 17-17 brought them to life, however.

Bears will hope Tuesday's display from Gardiner, who was playing through a bout of flu, will see him really start to produce the sort of form that was expected of him when he signed in the summer.

Gardiner was one of the players Nurse was referring to when he admitted some of his team were running out of gas late on.

He was also the man who had Nurse punching the air in delight with a tough jump shot from a Randy Duck inbounds pass with two seconds on the shot clock late in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Alleyne had his best game for the club and Mike Brown was perhaps a more unsung star of that memorable fourth quarter which saw Bears carve what had to be a winning lead at 72-63 with less than three minutes to go.

The argument going around the Triangle was that Split were not as good as first thought.

For two players to come up with three-pointers when their side really needed them, however, was surely a hallmark of quality.

Name a teenage, 6ft 11ins forward from these shores, for instance, who, with his side three points down on their last possession of regulation time, could sink a three-pointer with such poise you knew the ball was going in from the second it left his hand.

Drago Pasalic, who played most of the game in foul trouble, did exactly that.

Even then, one more second in overtime and Sullivan Phillips' tip-in would have been a buzzer beater to clinch the game for Bears.

Or should Duck's drive to the hoop and shot under pressure have been the winner?

In the end, the post match inquests came down to Duck, be it that miss or his decision to shoot a three, which missed the target, with the last play of regulation time.

Duck will have gone over that moment countless times since Tuesday. Maybe the fact he had nailed his two previous three-point attempts played a part in his decision when the whole arena was waiting for him to drive past Curtis McCants and go for the hoop.

That finishing touch was all that was needed after the skipper had recovered from a poor first half to produce ten third-quarter points, key rebounds at either end and the clever pass from which Alleyne hit his side's last field goal.

But then, amid the tension which held 1,200 fans spellbound, there were plenty of plays which will be talked about far longer than some missed free throws.

How about Smith's soaring one-handed dunk?

Or Roko-Leni Ukic, the 19-year-old point guard who looks even younger, going up for a jump shot, then offloading a pass to Hrvoje Orsulic who, with his back to the rim, flicked the ball over his shoulder for two points.

Then there was Brown, with one second on the shot clock and two giants in front of him, spinning and looping a shot home for two points with the game on the line. It all helped spread the gospel to fans.

Two of the younger element were waiting for autographs outside the changing room after the game. Their main target, Duck, had made a quick exit, but Smith was pointed out as one worth catching.

"How about him? He's from the Chicago Bulls," they were told. Asked to confirm that fact, Smith added: "Sure, I was drafted by the Bulls this year."

"Sorry," came the reply. "We want Brighton players."