SOLENT STARS 101 (30, 56, 76) - KINGSTON WILDCATS 98 (31, 57, 85)

Saturday's victory in this second round National Cup game was most improbable given that at the three-quarter stage Solent Stars looked down and out.

They showed no flair or appetite for a game that they seemed destined to lose, only to stage a grandstand finish that had the fans out of their seats with excitement.

The first quarter was an even affair with the lead changing hands regularly. It was captain Mark Jackson who kept Solent in touch with three three pointers at vital stages.

The second quarter followed a similar pattern to the first as the teams continued to trade baskets with the lead changing hands 13 times.

Solent kept getting caught by the Kingston fast break which neutralised any score that Solent made.

Some idea of Solent's ineptness in the quarter was demonstrated in the final 23 seconds. Leading by one point and with possession of the ball, they conspired to lose the ball without a shot on two occasions and also committed a foul. The two successful free thows meant that the visitors could take the narrowest of half-time leads at 56-57.

The third quarter provided moments of high drama as, at one stage, the officials came close to losing control of the situation. Paul Mundy-Castle was blatantly pushed in the back as he went for a defensive rebound. He expressed his feelings by smacking the padding of the basketball goal, and for that he was charged with a technical foul - which ended his involvement in the game.

Coach Mark Scott immediately called a time-out and the referees also charged the Solent team with a further technical foul for something said about the earlier decision. From the resulting free throws, Kingston were able to extend their lead by nine points.

By the third minute of the final quarter, Solent trailed by their biggest margin of ten points. They had lost Mundy-Castle and Crawford was on four fouls.

However, the home team then set about restoring their pride, led by Mark Jackson, whose seven points on the trot brought Solent to within striking distance.With Matt Story hitting some shots, and Nick OHarabe gaining important rebounds, Solent entered the last minute 99-93 up. Kingston hit back with five points, but free throws from Story and Crawford settled the game in Solent's favour.

Scorers - Solent: Matt Story 28 Mark Jackson 26 Matt Crawford 24 Nick Oharabe 12 Paul Mundy-Castle 6 Duane Laight 5.

Kingston: Wayne Henry 32 Andy Powlesland 22 Dwayne Martin 20 Chris Jeremiah 10 Dominic Davis 5 Gary Davison 5 Robert Parker 2 Afolabi Abdul-Salam 2.

Attendance 214.