Nick Nurse insists his resurgent Brighton Bears can still make the knockout stages of the ULEB Cup.

Bears scored their first home win in the competition on Tuesday night, edging out Ionikos of Athens 86-81 on a tense night at the Triangle.

Victory takes them up to fourth in their six-team group and still with an outside chance of nicking third spot.

The four third-placed teams with the best records go through to the last 16.

Nurse, the Bears owner and coach, insists his men can do it after a strong finish saw off the Greeks.

He said: "This game wasn't a thing of beauty but it was in the balance with a minute to go.

"It means a lot to me to get off the bottom of the table. Now we have got to set a goal to win two out of our last three.

"I know it's a tall order. We've got to go to Lithuania and Poland back to back and upset one of those sides, then beat Cholet at home."

The home clash with Cholet has been brought forward to January 27 and moved from the Brighton Centre to the Triangle.

Randy Duck starred last night with 32 points while Mike Brown fired three crucial three-pointers in two and a half fourth-quarter minutes.