He is what the Americans call the "go to guy" - the player a team looks to when the clock is running down and a basket is needed.

With Bears, for "go to" read Ralph Blalock, whose mix of sound skills and an amazingly cool temperament are ideal for those high pressure situations.

'The King' kicked off Bears' current winning run with the basket seven seconds from time which forced overtime with London Towers.

Last Saturday he topped that, taking the ball in front of his own basket 11 seconds from time and producing the drive and lay-up which clinched a thrilling one-point win over Chester.

He revealed: "At college and at Newcastle and Leicester I have always tended to be the one who takes the last second shot and I have hit the majority of them.

"There is pressure but normally I want to be in that position whether it is to win the game or force overtime.

"It's more of a challenge to save the game because you have still got to slug it out in overtime."

As Bears' players held an animated post match discussion after Saturday's drama, Blalock chatted quietly about his contribution.

He looked as excited as someone waiting to catch a bus to work but that laid back style is vital at crunch time.

He said: "We are supposed to win in our own arena but, at the same time, you know that someone has to lose and that could be us."

After years of carrying teams every week, Blalock loves the chance to hit a buzzer beater.

He admitted: "I haven't had to put a lot of pressure on myself to do things here because we have such a great team.

"When we played Towers I could have passed to Mike (Brown) or Sterl (Davis) because they have made shots like that this season."

Brown added: "The secret is to treat it like a regular jump shot two minutes into a game."