Andrew Alleyne stuck out a mighty left arm to swat away the last shot bewildered Guildford Heat could muster.

And with it, stand-in coach Phil Waghorn and his eight men might hope the big man also batted away any doubts that Genesis Brighton Bears can overturn big deficits and win tough away games.

Bears trailed by 15 in the third quarter and 13 with eight minutes to go but used a stifling full court press and runs of 10-0 and 12-0 to score their best away result of the British League season so far.

It was a performance one which, despite events at Chester yesterday, can work wonders for Bears as they chase a decent play-off seeding.

Waghorn certainly sees it that way. He said: "I told them at half time It's Newcastle all over again, where we were down by 24 and within two minutes were back within 12'.

"For the last six minutes or so we stuck to our gameplan and started getting to the rim every time.

"It probably helped that we saw Guildford play beforehand.

"We've got a few presses we can use and there's one in particular I didn't think they would like. The guys applied themselves and gave themselves a shot."

Alleyne, refreshed by a trip home to see his wife and baby daughter in Barbados, came alive after half-time to finish with 21 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

Having missed five of his first seven free throws, he then made ten in a row, finishing with 13 out of 19 and helping get Guildford in foul trouble which caused them great consternation.

He said: "I was shooting too long but I made the adjustment.

"In the first half we didn't really play our style of basketball.

"In the second, we showed the belief in what we do. Belief we can win the game and belief in the system we run."

Bears are no longer the all-conquering force of two years ago but they have as much spirit as any Brighton team in recent times and they showed it to grab a win even their travelling fans feared was impossible.

At half time, match tickets bearing the words "Guildford Heat v Brighton Bear" summed things up perfectly.

Terrance McGee was the only Bear who had really come to play and had 21 points as his team trailed 50-38.

Bears changed defences and hinted at a comeback but Heat still looked good at 76-63 with eight minutes remaining.

Then Alleyne's tip-in sparked a 10-0 run, featuring three-pointers from McGee and Daniel Hildreth, who were six-of-12 and two-of-two respectively from behind the arc.

The moment which really convinced Bears they could do it was a four-point play to cut arrears to 81-79 with 2:37 to play.

Steve Parillon made a free throw and missed the second but Alleyne scored off the rebound as he was fouled, then added the extra point.

Two Alleyne free throws levelled matters, Jerry Williams came up with one of his six steals and finished to put Bears in front, then Parillon scored off a textbook inbounds play and Hildreth struck twice from the line to complete the 12-0 surge.

A late three-pointer from Lekan Popoola kept Heat alive but, when he tried to get to the rim and cut the arrears to two in the last five seconds, Alleyne stood tall to block his shot.

As a statement of defiance, that moment summed up the evening.