BURY Blue Devils beat Stockport Atlas 87-63 in the first round of the Manchester Area Basketball League (MABL) Cup.

Omar Abbassy scored the first eight points for Bury with Paul Clarke protecting the rim with five blocks.

Ste Graham and Clarke also found the target as Bury held a 19-16 lead in the first quarter.

Jalees Siddiq and Stuart Stead were the beneficiaries of great ball movement with Nick Metcalfe playing some solid minutes but Stockport stayed on their heels and at half time it was a tied game at 37-37.

It was Stockport who drew first blood after the interval in what was becoming a physical contest before Darren Butterworth hit his patent baseline jumper.

Stockport seemed to find some momentum taking a 48-43 lead with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

Then a Callum Brady three-pointer brought Bury within two points before Stockport hit the target, taking a 50-46 lead.

Then, in a seven-minute span between the end of the third and midway through the fourth, Bury went on a 30-0 run.

A shift in defensive mindset put pressure on Stockport.

Great pressure on the ball by Brady and Abbassy forced Stockport into turnovers and poor shots and Bury capitalised with fast break points and some great shooting by Abbassy, Siddiq and Graham.

With the game decided, the last two minutes saw both teams score only from three-pointers – Stead, Brady and Siddiq hit for Bury while Stockport's Mike Greenhough hit three of his own.

Top scorer for Bury was Siddiq with 24 points.

Coach Mike Nichols said: "When you change your mindset, your behaviours change and that's exactly what the guys did.

"They tuned in defensively and the 30-0 run reflected that change in mindset."