Cheshire Phoenix secured their second BBL Championship victory of the season with a 89-86 success at Glasgow Rocks on Sunday night.
The consistently impressive Demond Watt helped lead the Nix charge at the Emirates Arena as he drained 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, with point guard Mike Di Nunno also showing his class with a haul of 26.
Head coach John Coffino gave a debut to former NBA star Julius Hodge, who had spells at the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks and was a first-round pick in the 2005 draft, with the Harlem-born small forward claiming 11 points and 10 rebounds on his first appearance in Nix blue after jetting in on Friday morning.
The result against a strong Glasgow outfit was even more impressive considering the lack of depth available to Coffino for the game. Key man David Aliu was suspended for the game after his ejection against the Newcastle Eagles the previous weekend while Gareth Murray's spot on the roster was still vacant following his departure to French side Vendee Challans Basket last week.
With Hodge replacing American Brad Karp on the Nix roster, Coffino only had Sasa Cuic and Matt Pyke available on the bench, with four of the five starters for the Nix playing the full 40 minutes.
The longer rotation available to the Rocks wasn't taken advantage of despite them taking a 24-19 lead at the end of the first quarter and stretching their advantage to 13 midway through the second quarter before the visitors pegged them back to 49-45 at the half-time break.
The Nix hit the front in the third quarter but the lead was a slender one for the remainder. With three minutes left on the clock, the Rocks took the lead at 82-81 but Coffino's men rallied and went on a 6-0 run to put them in command down the stretch and they held on for a precious victory that takes them to 2-4 in the BBL so far this season.
The Nix are next in action this Sunday at the Northgate Arena when they take on Bristol Flyers (5.30pm), who were humbled 83-54 by Leicester Riders at the weekend.
