02/04/2004
Nurse and Warren out of Riders clash

Champions-elect Brighton Bears could win the league if they beat Leicester Riders this weekend, but they will have to do so without star forward Kendrick Warren and Head Coach Nick Nurse.

The pair were tossed out of Brighton's game in Scotland the day after their BBL Trophy Final defeat to TCS Chester Jets and have received bans from England Basketball's Disciplinary Officer as a result.

It was Warren's first ejection of the season, but he was given three additional disciplinary points - on top of the seven he automatically received for being thrown out - taking him to 10 and triggering a one-game ban.

A Coach ejection is worth an automatic nine points and Nurse was given an extra five by the Officer. His appeal against the 14 points last night failed and they will be added to the 12 he received after being ejected at Sheffield earlier this season. Bans come every five points after 10 and thus Nurse, with a total of 26, has racked up three games for going past 15, 20 and 25. As well as the Riders game, he misses the trip to Birmingham and the home game against London.

Despite the losses, Bears are hoping for a little history repeating this weekend. They take on the Riders 11 years and three days after their 87-69 victory at Granby Halls saw them lift the title for the first time back in 1992/93 (although hopefully Riders won't turn up an hour after tip-off as the Bears did back in 1993!). To continue the theme, that victory over the Riders meant the Bears potential showdown with title rivals Thames Valley became a game of pride - Bears face Sheffield in their last game of the season, which could, theoretically, become a title decider.

Winning the league this weekend is not entirely in the Bears hands, though, they'll only get the trophy on Saturday if they beat Riders and Sheffield lose to Chester at the same time.