The comeback kings got a taste of their own medicine last night and it surely cost them any hope of pinching the Southern Conference title.

Bears, 12 points up when Errol Seaman produced a turnaround jump shot midway through the third quarter, were beaten by an after-time TJ Walker free throw.

The 95-94 defeat against Newcastle Eagles was another epic contest for a noisy crowd at the Triangle and one Bears should have won, even after Jeremy Hyatt had ensured a cliff-hanger by hitting six out of eight three-point attempts.

With the score on 94-94 and 5.7 seconds remaining, Bears had endline possession and worked the ball to Randy Duck.

He looked to drive to the rim but was crowded out, allowing Walker to scamper to the other end, where he was fouled by Rodger Farrington as he went for a lay-up with zero on the clock.

The officials ruled Walker should be allowed to take the free throws and he converted the first to silence the home fans.

Bears coach Nick Nurse believed the foul should have been wiped out or his side should have been given a fraction of a second to hurl the ball to the other end but he was even more angry about how his side had surrendered a winning position.

He said: "We thought it was a game we were going to win comfortably without exerting our usual effort at the defensive end. In the second half we gave up 51 points and you will not beat anybody in this League doing that.

"It was poor execution on the last play and stupid to do anything to give them a chance to win."

Bears were 13 up in the early stages and offered some memorable first half moments, including an ally-oop pass from Albert White to Sterling Davis, a couple of lovely assists from Duck and Farrington's clever reverse pass to set up Seaman.

Wilbur Johnson produced strong work down the middle but spent much of the second-half benched on four fouls. White was also on the wrong end of some contentious calls and his fifth foul three minutes from time was a key moment.

When Johnson tipped in a Duck shot to edge Bears in front 13 seconds from time, it still looked like the hosts had got away with it.

Instead Malcolm Leak conjured a turnaround shot to make it 94-94 and Eagles' defence did the rest.

Bears Scorers: Johnson 16, Duck 16, Farrington 15, Davis 14, White 12, Brown 10, Seaman 6, Jackson 5.

Newcastle Eagles: Hyatt 25, Myers 22, Walker 21, Leak 16, Whyte 6, Ogunjimi 5.