Nick Nurse watched his Brighton Bears thrash the table toppers, then gave the rest of the British League the news they dreaded.

The Bears coach, whose men led previously unbeaten Sheffield by as many as 22 points at a packed Brighton Centre on Saturday, reckons his side can only get better.

What was supposed to be a cliffhanger between two form sides turned into a procession as Bears won all four quarters.

They were tight defensively and showed impressive strength in depth to cope with early foul trouble.

Nurse recognised that but still had his men back at work this morning to concentrate on areas that needed improvement.

He said: "We were energetic, we were smart, we were together.

"Defensively we were very good but I thought they took us out of offensive stuff too often. I won't name them but there are still guys playing below their best.

"There are a lot things that need working on so I will be on their backs come Monday morning."

That level headed approach is just what Bears need right now after six wins out of six which have sent expectations sky high.

Saturday's latest result cannot be played down too much, however. Scores from early season can come back to haunt sides at the end of the campaign.

This time last year Bears lost to London Towers in their first southern conference meeting of the season. No-one thought too much of it at the time but, as things turned out, it cost Bears the title.

They have certainly taken the upper hand now against a Sharks outfit whose outside shooters failed, or were not allowed, to offer anything like the anticipated threat.

Centre Wilbur Johnson made no secret of the importance of this result against his former club as he left the action with five minutes remaining and his side 79-57 up.

Johnson again impressed, hitting six of eight two-pointers. Randy Duck was six-from-ten, plus two-from-two behind the arc, and Rico Alderson, while struggling for points, contributed 11 rebounds plus some subtle handiwork on his way to seven assists.

Players such as these are the among the biggest names in the league. Opponents breathe a sigh of relief when they leave the court.

It must be heartbreaking then to see Emiko Etete or Errol Seaman come on and grab the very next rebound, or Mike Brown do his bit in the back court.

On Saturday, when Davis reached three fouls early in the second quarter, Bears had three bench men on court for more than five minutes, during which time they outscored Sheffield by a point and had regained possession when the next bunch of substitutions were made.

Duck admitted: "Our intensity is really great and our defence suffocates people. "Everybody is contributing. We controlled the rebounds, played good defence and that means we are going to win.

"We did a really good job of helping each other out and switching with each other. Collectively our defence won us the game."

Bears were always in front once a three-point play from Davis put them 17-15 up with 5min.46sec played.

Another and-one from Davis, plus Johnson's conversion of a clever Duck pass, capped an 8-0 run by Bears in a lively quarter which saw both sides produce some well constructed offences.

The second period was less eyecatching, but it was a profitable one for Bears as a Ralph Blalock three helped them extend their lead while Davis, Duck and Alderson took a breather.

Sharks were 42-34 adrift at the half and offered their last hint of a comeback when Robert Yanders' three-pointer cut that to five points two minutes into the third quarter.

Brown cleverely stepped back outside the arc to reply in kind and Bears were in total command from that point.

Johnson's dunk from an Alderson pass, quickly followed by Duck's three-pointer, brought the house down and, when Bears opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, Sharks were looking at a 25-point mauling.

They averted that humiliation but the message they took back to Yorkshire was clear. These Bears will take some stopping.

Bears: Blalock 19, Duck 19, Davis 15, Johnson 13, Brown 9, Etete 6, Alderson 5, Seaman 2, Johnston 2.

Sheffield: Williams 15, Yanders 15, Stewart 14, Phoenix 9, Reinking 7, Payne 5, Keeley 4, McKinney 3, Okorie 1, Scantlebury 1.