Title-chasing Bears are under orders to step up a gear on offence as they attack one of the most important phases of their season.

Bears' renowned defensive tenacity easily snuffed out a desperately disappointing Birmingham Bullets side at a packed Triangle last night.

Victory was virtually assured before the end of the third quarter as Bears built on Friday night's amazing comeback to beat Leopards.

Two wins in three days is a decent start as they return from their 19-day break.

But coach Nick Nurse was not fooled by a misfiring performance going forward, which saw Brighton score just 13 points in the opening quarter and hit only one of their 18 three-point attempts all night.

He expects to unveil a signing tomorrow after spending the early hours of yesterday morning on the phone to the United States.

Nurse believes more manpower is vital, both on match nights and the practice court, ahead of a hectic fortnight which includes Wednesday's trip to Thames Valley, a Trophy showdown with Towers and back-to-back away games at Birmingham and Sheffield.

Looking drained after a hectic week of spying missions and transfer negotiations, he said: "We were very good defensively, no question, but I don't like the way we are playing at the other end.

"We are not executing, we've got guys shooting when we don't know what's going on. Guys are taking poor shots, quick shots, soft shots.

"Birmingham were terrible. They were tired and did nothing right and we guarded them. We've got to play Birmingham three more times and we're never going to see them like that again."

He added: "I don't think we are in tune with what we need to be doing. We've got guys all over the place and it's probably because of the lay-off we have had.

"I take responsibility for not giving us enough five-on-five work in practice.

"It's something I have got to address. I've got to lean on them to get focussed offensively because I think we are still easing our way back."

Bears can expect to be shown the video of this game tomorrow, when offensive frailties will be highlighted.

For what it is worth, when they take their seats before the small screen, the players will be witnessing Brighton's biggest league win for almost two-and-a- half years.

The boys in blue are setting new standards these days, however, which is why they will concentrate more on shortcomings both from last night and from that first half on Friday which left them needing to stage a monumental 25-point comeback to pip Leopards.

Bullets looked jaded after Saturday night's defeat by leaders Towers.

But that did not worry Bears' fans, who responded enthusiastically to their side's better attacking moments, most of which featured Albert White. His 24 points were a game high and he added 13 rebounds, just one short of the mark set by teammate Sterling Davis.

White's highlights included two superb end-to-end drives, both after he had taken the initial defensive rebound, and a huge dunk to turn in a stray shot from a colleague.

He hit ten from 18 two-pointers but missed with all seven shots from behind the arc and admitted: "I didn't shoot the ball particularly well but we did enough defensively to get a good lead and make some fast break opportunities. That's when we are at our best, when we are playing good defence.

"We've still got a lot of work to do. As far as my jump shot is going, I've got to keep working too because it hasn't been falling for me lately.

"That win we got on Friday was a huge boost because there was no way we were supposed to win that game.

"That's what happens when you stick together through 40 minutes of basketball. We never quit and that's what we need if we are going to compete for the championship."

White set the ball rolling after Bears had amassed four fouls and no points from the opening three minutes.

John O'Connell's triple on the buzzer sent the sides in level at 13-13 after the first quarter.

Bullets then conjured a 7-0 run, featuring Rashod Johnson's three-pointer, to open a 20-15 lead, but that was the highlight of their evening.

White led a 7-0 riposte and, when Wilbur Johnson tipped in, the hosts were on course for a 39-33 half-time lead. The start of the third quarter was all about Wilbur's power down the middle. He scored seven of his side's nine points and rejected Rob Paternostro's shot to allow Randy Duck to scamper away for the other two.

The hosts put together a 12-2 run, which Mike Brown followed by claiming their only three-point success.

Davis's steal and clever pass allowed Duck to round off the period in eyecatching style and ease his side 63-46 up.

They later led by as many as 22, though the real fireworks were provided by an off-the-ball clash between Paternostro and Mark Jackson.

Bullets coach Lance Randall was incensed by that, throwing his jacket angrily across the court and confronting the officials.

Nurse wisely called a timeout to help calm things, though the whole ugly episode was captured by the lone television camera.

The incident could make for some interesting television if it is given a public airing. But Nurse and his men have more important viewing to do before they next step out on court.

Bears: White 24, Davis 17, W. Johnson 13, Duck 12, Brown 7, Jackson 7, Seaman 6.

Bullets: Craven 14, R. Johnson 14, Bailey 13, Etete 8, Paternostro 6, O' Connell 6, Salter 4, Garcia 3.

Worthing Thunder went down 97-80 at champions Plymouth in the conference, although it was a battling display from Gary Smith's men.

They were 21 points down in the second quarter as Todd Cetnar unleashed a barrage of three-pointers for the hosts. Thunder reduced arrears to 47-40 at half time. They were ten points adrift at the end of the third quarter but never really looked like silencing a sell out crowd of 1,500.

Paul Mundy-Castle, returning after an ankle injury, was outstanding for the visitors with 25 points.

Gaylon Moore and Sean Hampton had 21 apiece.