Cheshire Phoenix were dealt a blow to their hopes of a sixth-placed finish in the BBL as they suffered a 79-69 defeat to London Lions at the Copper Box.
Lions leapfrogged Cheshire with the victory and stand on level points with the Nix but have three games in hand on John Lavery's men, who look set to have to battle for seventh or eighth spot in the play-offs.
Alex Owumi set the tone early on with a 19-point opening quarter in the capital and went on to finish with a game-high 27 points, while Nick Lewis weighed in with 17 points.
The Lions made a strong start, and Owumi caught fire from beyond the arc with back-to-back triples to make it 17-4. Two more followed with Owumi taking his tally to 19 points on seven-from-eight shooting from the field including five triples.
Cheshire responded with a 14-0 run across quarters to close within a single point. However, Kai and Jamal Williams combined for the next 11 points for the Lions and the home side would go into half-time with a 44-38 advantage.
Lewis scored eight points early in the third to extend the lead to help London maintain their advantage. A three from Joe Ikhinmwin made it a 10-point game late in the period and that remained the differential with six minutes to go.
The visitors scored six straight to cut the gap to four before Owumi netted his sixth triple to make it 71-63 and the Lions were able to close out the win.
Quincy Taylor top scored with 19 points as Phoenix suffer their 17th league defeat, but remain above Plymouth University Raiders in seventh.
