BURY Blue Devils welcomed back a number of star players as they rebounded from their first defeat of the MABL Championship campaign the previous weekend against YMCA with a 77-52 victory at home to Oxford Phoenix.

Three of their usual five starters were absent against YMCA, but one of those, Mike Nicols, returned from Manchester Giants duties to head up a much-improved performance against Oxford.

The Phoenix were expected to present a tough challenge as the only team to have so far beaten leaders St Helens, but they proved no match for the fired-up Blue Devils.

And player coach Jason Knowles challenged his players to produce the same level of performance every time they hit the court.

"The first quarter was scrappy," he said. "I'm just pleased we found that intensity for the rest of the game, proving what we can do.

"Our challenge now is to find that intensity and effort for the full four quarters every time we hit the floor."

Bury's starting line-up charged out of the blocks, taking an early 10-0 lead with three-pointers from Nicols and Phil Stainton.

Oxford rallied, and the Blue Devils' second-string five were caught cold, allowing easy baskets from close range as Bury ended the quarter trailing 16-14.

The second period saw some improved ball movement by the home team, with Knowles taking hold of the offence.

New signing Vitoldas Balcunias started to dominate close to the basket, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the quarter.

Knowles, Stu Jackson and Stainton all made the scoresheet, with Bury closing out the half leading 32-26.

After some stern words in the half-time huddle, the start of the third quarter saw Bury shift up a gear.

Togo started to make his presence felt on both ends of the floor, with Nicols contributing another five points.

Despite Bury's efforts, some dubious refereeing decisions allowed Oxford to stay in touch, losing out in the quarter 20 points to 15.

But the Blue Devils really picked up their performance in the final quarter.

The home team started to push the ball on the fast break, and Oxford could not keep up.

Stainton thrived in the flowing breaks, scoring 11 points in the quarter, including another trademark three-pointer and Bury closed the game out with a with a comfortable 25-point winning margin.