Cheshire Phoenix made it back-to-back wins for the first time this season as they booked their place in the second round of the BBL Cup with an impressive 88-65 triumph over the Durham Wildcats.

On a night where the England football team limped to victory over Estonia, those who made the trip to the Northgate Arena last night were treated to a terrifically entertaining game of basketball, with the Nix showing that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the BBL this campaign,especially if their 36-haul in the final quarter was anything to go by.

New signing Taylor King made his long-awaited debut for head coach John Coffino's men, with the 26-year-old Californian, a former Duke prospect, showing his class as he high-scored for the Nix with 24 points, also taking nine rebounds.

It was the visitors who made the early running, with Panos Mayindombe and Ralph Bucci both nailing back-to-back three's to give the Wildcats the perfect start to the contest.

But some excellent rebounding from the impressive Demond Watt in the first period helped claw the Nix back to parity and Gareth Murray ended the first period on a high for the home side, draining a jump shot for two to see the Nix lead 17-14 at the end of the first.

The Wildcats started the second quarter in strong fashion and led the Nix 22-21 before the home defence shutdown the Wildcats for three minutes, with Watt hitting two jumpers and Brad Karp finding nothing but net from beyond the arc to give the Nix a six-point cushion before David Aliu rounded off the scoring at the end of the second with a jump shot to see the Nix 32-27 up going in to the locker room at half time.

After the break the Wildcats emerged in determined fashion and went blow-for-blow with the home side, battling their way back to tie the game at 50-50 with 44 seconds remaining on the clock. But King was quickest to react in the paint with 24 seconds left on the clock as he tipped in at the basket to give Coffino's men a slender two-point advantage going in to the final period.

Whatever Coffino said to his troops in the huddle before they emerged for the final 10 minutes certainly had the desired effect, with King and Watt, who finished with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds, helping spearhead the Phoenix as they ruthlessly took apart the visitors in a scintillating last quarter.

While the Wildcats got themselves into foul trouble in the closing minutes, Aliu, who hit 16 points during the contest, proved to be automatic from the free-throw line and found his range from outside, nailing a three to give the Nix an 11-point advantage going in to the final five minutes of the contest.

The Wildcats were floored and didn't look like overturning the deficit, with Karp and King helping to stretch the lead further in the closing minutes before Murray ended the game in spectacular fashion with buzzer-beating three-pointer to put the sheen on what was a polished and professional performance from Coffino's men at a noisy Northgate Arena.