IT wasn't so much the 117-105 defeat by reigning champions Teesside Mohawks that hurt Solent Stars yesterday - it was the paltry turnout of 152 at Fleming Park to see arguably the best side in the league.

Because of Mohawks' involvement in the National Trophy final, the original Saturday night date of January 11 had to be switched, leaving Stars distinctly hacked off to have one of their prime home fixtures moved to an unpopular Sunday afternoon slot.

Director Jim Rumsey revealed: "The club owner Bob Paulley is far from happy and intends to raise the issue with the league this week.

"We feel we've been hard done by financially and that's something the club can't afford."

On Saturday night Stars' game against lowly Ware Rebels attracted a far healthier crowd of 248 even though the opposition was less appealing.

"That just goes to show that, no matter who we play, we'll get 200-250 on a Saturday night," said Rumsey. "And if you play an attractive team like Teesside then you should be getting a lot more.

"Originally we thought Sunday afternoon would be more of a draw because people could bring their families, but we've had nothing but poor attendances for Sunday games."

An exhilarating opening by Solent forced Teesside to take a time-out when they fell nine points behind (29-20) in the last minute of the first quarter.

Three pointers had come from Mark Jackson (3) and Alan McDonald while Howard Jackson had worked tirelessly inside to bag 13 points of his own. With Solent defending well and gaining rebounds, Teesside had been denied possession at both ends of the court.

The opening minutes of the second half continued in the same vein and Solent had built a 42-29 point lead by the fourth minute.

Coach Mark Scott decided to take his one allowed time-out in this period but he must have regretted the decision when Teesside began to demonstrate why they are unbeaten in league and cup this season.

Without Solent adding to their total it took Teesside just three minutes to reduce the gap to one point - helped by a number of desperation fouls by Solent that sent Teesside to the free throw line six times. Eventually, with coach Scott powerless to call a halt, Solent's 13-point advantage turned into an eight-point deficit at half time (50-58).

It looked briefly as if Solent could get back into the game when previously pointless David Butterworth began to hit his three-point shots. But, whenever Solent threatened to narrow the gap, Teesside's Ralph Bucci and EJ Harrison broke through to add more points.

Having got back to 64-70, Solent suffered a further blow when Howard Jackson reached his fourth foul and was taken out of the game for a period. Teesside used this situation to open up their biggest gap so far of 15 points (66 - 81).

The gap widened further (75-94) by the second minute of the final quarter, helped by the referee calling a technical foul against the Solent coaches who protested that Bucci was being given too much protection by the referees.

Just when all seemed lost for Solent they staged a late rally, including two Butterworth three-pointers, that forced the Teesside coach to call a time-out in the ninth minute with Solent just eight points adrift (101-109).

It proved enough to stop the rally and Solent once again scored over 100 points against the unbeaten Teesside team only to lose.

Solent: Howard Jackson 29 David Butterworth 26 Mark Jackson 21 Dominique Jones 16 Alan McDonald 10 Trevor Donaldson 3

Teesside: Ralph Bucci 31 EJ Harrison 27 Steve Butler 18 Steve Pilkington 15 James Nicholson 15 Etuana Zambo 6 Neil Campbell 2 Jon Stonebridge 2 Kimatu Milambo 1

Attendance: 152

Solent Stars 100 - Ware Rebels 89

Solent Stars fashioned a victory over basement dwellers Ware Rebels with a less than convincing performance on Saturday.

It was enough on the night but it demonstrated that Solent still have a lot to do if they wish to climb the league.

Ware opened with a series of accurate shots that gave them a 13-2 lead by the third minute and, at that stage, Solent had not been able to get out of first gear.

They look ponderous and it may have been that they were more affected by the 20-minute delayed start because of the non-arrival of one appointed official. Local referee Grace Jacca was called in.

Coach Mark Scott took an early time-out and, by the seventh minute, Solent had levelled the scores at 17-all, thanks to points from David Butterworth, Mark Jackson and Howard Jackson.

With Mark Jackson having problems establishing his command on court, it was left to Howard Jackson to show the verve and effort needed to keep Solent in the game.

After a Ware time-out, the visitors were more effective and deservedly held an eight-point advantage (21-29) at the first break.

But Solent restricted Ware to just four points in the opening five minutes of the second quarter while rattling in 19 of their own. And, having taken the lead in the fourth minute, Solent never let it slip.

Their only concern was that only four players, Howard Jackson, Mark Jackson, Butterworth and Mark Vingoe appeared on the scoresheet.

Stars dominated the third quarter without ever threatening to run away with the game.

Alan McDonald scored some brave baskets as he penetrated the Ware defence several times.

Solent were winning more of the rebounds off the boards and turning that to their advantage. An 11-point spurt by Solent between the sixth and ninth minute effectively sealed the game. American Dominique Jones finally hit the target for Solent 22 seconds from the end of the third quarter to end a personal shooting nightmare.

A stop-go final quarter did not make interesting watching for the 248 spectators although the majority of them were happy to see Solent not fall at the finish, never letting Ware get closer than ten points. Scorers:

SOLENT: Howard Jackson 34, Mark Jackson 22, David Butterworth 20, Alan McDonald 10, Dominique Jones 7, Mark Vingoe 3, Chris Sheldrick 2, Adam Willis 2.

WARE: Mick Richardson 22, Ross Carlton 14, Dave Churches 13, Robert Brockenbury 12, Danny Scott 10, Barry Gooch 7, Dominic Davis 6, Matt Clarkson 5.

Attendance: 248