Nick Nurse called together his Brighton Bears in the sanctuary of their changing room and told Ryan Huntley: "I wouldn't want anyone else playing point guard for this team."

Huntley under-lined his status as one of the most authoritative playmakers in the British League as he led Bears to an impressive demolition of the improving Scottish Rocks at the Triangle on Saturday.

The result helped them close the gap on leaders London Towers, who lost at home to Chester, and was achieved while offering their two injured players some respite.

Yorick Williams, struggling with a painful hand, played just 17 minutes and Ajou Deng, recovering from a groin strain, did not even get off the bench.

Huntley, Steve Lepore and Andrew Alleyne all topped 20 points, Tony Holley pulled down 11 rebounds, Duncan Ogilvie chipped in as expected Pat Bates and Joe Perera got good court time.

Huntley converted five of nine three-point attempts and was in complete command against his old club, especially when combining in the back court with Lepore, who also hit five threes.

He revealed though that the show of faith from his head coach came not during his recent run of good form but 24 hours after the nightmare of his home debut against Towers.

The 27-year-old Texan said: "I'm sure people were wondering at the beginning what's wrong with him?' but it takes time to get adjusted to your team mates.

"I was pretty upset after the Towers game but coach Nurse spoke to me in front of the team right before we played Sheffield the following night and said he wouldn't want anybody else.

"He really gave me confidence. It motivated me to know he had confidence in me.

"When I first got here I put too much pressure on myself. I tried to be perfect and nobody's perfect.

"I also spoke with Tony Holley. He has been playing for 15 years and he told me just to relax. That's what I try to do, relax and have fun.

"When you come to the BBL champions, you want to do so well but you can only be yourself."

Nurse is convinced Huntley can rival the likes of Rod Brown at Towers and TJ Walker at Newcastle to become the BBL's top player in his position.

He said: "Ryan's climbing that ladder to where I thought he would be.

"There's no reason why he can't be the premier point guard in this league.

"There are some good ones but he's got good hands and great strength and balance, which will always make him a cut better than those little guys.

"He can shoot, he can cut, he can drive. He can run the team and set people up. He's really playing well."

Nurse admitted he had "nothing to complain about" as Bears raced into a double-figure lead halfway through the second quarter and kept it for the rest of the game.

Their swift ball movement caught the eye with Lepore the main beneficiary.

His 13 points in the first quarter including threes after being found by a cross-court assist from Huntley and clever wrap-around pass by Ogilvie out of what looked an impossible situation under the Rocks' basket.

Bears played arguably their best stuff in a 7-0 third-quarter run which saw Huntley spin and score off the glass, then beat Phil Perre with a cross-over and fire a three before Alleyne finished off Lepore's bullet pass.

Huntley and Lepore were in perfect harmony when the former struck from the right corner after his initial attempt had been rebounded by the latter.

Bates extended the lead to a game-high 25 before Rocks gained some late consolation.

Perre battled hard against the club who rejected him this time last year. He had nine of his side's first 11 points, was perfect from the free throw line and traded banter with home fans.

Horror of horror, he even played with his shirt untucked which, under recent directives, is a cardinal sin punishable by a technical foul.

Some fans seem to let that little rule get right under their skin. Not on Saturday, though. There was too much good stuff to enjoy, most of it stemming from the man wearing No. 20.