BURY Blue Devils returned to action after Christmas with a 79-66 win against Cardinal Langley in the Manchester Area Basketball League Premier Division.
Bury quickly took an 8-0 lead with Nick Metcalfe and Chris Stainton hitting the target.
Langley stepped up a gear and stemmed the flow as Bury faltered towards the end of the first quarter but a three-pointer by Callum Brady gave Bury some hope.
Cardinal piled on the pressure at the start of the second quarter, taking an 11-point lead as Bury's defence collapsed.
Cardinal scored five points to start the their quarter before veteran Mike Nichols hit six straight points and a change in the defence allowed Bury to claw back some points with Metcalfe, Stainton, Brady and Ste Graham contributing to reduce the deficit to only five points at half time.
After the break, the teams traded baskets and Cardinal led by two going into the final quarter.
A three-pointer by Stainton and some great defence gave Bury a six-point lead before Cardinal pulled it back to two with two minutes remaining.
Bury again played swarming defence and an Omar Abbassy three-pointer sealed victory.
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