Mike Burton rolled back the years as he took on the mantle of head coach to lead Cheshire Phoenix to a thrilling 85-84 overtime win at Glasgow Rocks on Friday night.
The game, televised live on the BBC Sport website, was tied at 74-74 at the end of the fourth quarter but the Nix found an extra gear to sneak past a Glasgow side who have been riding high in the BBL this season.
Club chairman Burton, whose association with the club stretches back almost 30 years, had successful spells as head coach of the Chester Jets in the 1990s and 2000s and Friday’s win was his third straight BBL win, albeit with 18 years, nine months and 26 days between them.
“I was really pleased, I really enjoyed the game and the players responded really well,” said Burton, who stepped in on an interim basis after the departure of Colin O’Reilly from the head coach role earlier in the month following a poor start to the season.
“I had two days to prepare them because they had a long break over Christmas. I put some different things on the floor for them and they executed, and they executed really well.
“They played positive, they played aggressive and it was just a great day for the club, that’s the most important thing.
“It was the first close game on television, so I would imagine the BBC will be happy!”
At Glasgow, the visitors had a six-man rotation but prevailed in the extra period for their fourth win of the season.
Frank Eaves led the way with 23 points in over 40 minutes of action as the Nix line-up logged heavy minutes in the absence of the injured Josh Wilcher.
The Rocks edged a low-scoring opening period and their advantage was cut to three points at the half-time break. Cheshire went on a 9-0 run in the third to take the lead, but Hayden Lescault pushed the home side back ahead going into the final period.
A close final quarter ensued with the lead trading back and forth and with no score in the last two minutes, the game went to overtime.
Glasgow started with a 5-0 run but the visitors went on a 10-0 run to complete an impressive victory.
Cheshire Phoenix under-18s were finished second at tournament in Germany, losing in heartbreaking fashion in the final game in overtime.
The young Nix, who had Luke Gosney and Max Jones in their ranks, were beaten by Team Money Berlin, losing by a single point.
