The season ended the way it began for Solent Stars - and following Saturday's defeat, changes are set to be made by chairman Bob Paulley.

Just twelve months after narrowly failing to win the end of season championship, Solent have failed even to make the play-offs this time around. It's the first time in six years that Solent haven't been involved in the play-offs and Paulley is determined that in another twelve months, Solent will once again be challenging for honours. "Not having reached the play-offs is something we are not used to and whilst people might write it off as a bad day at the office, most supporters, including myself, will feel disappointed," he admitted. Only a couple of players remained from last season's side, so it was inevitable that there was going to be a period of rebuilding. The policy of going with a home-based side right from the start, though, soon proved to be misplaced. Paulley added: "The lack of secured funding at the beginning of the season did not help and we have been very unlucky with injuries throughout the season." Coach Mark Scott is waiting to see what happens before committing himself to a fourth season in charge. He said: "I'm going to stand back for a few weeks and then see what's up." Scott was full of praise for the home-based players who yet again came close to winning on Saturday, only to end up on the wrong side of another narrow defeat. He added: "There's been a lot of growing up to do this season as you have to perform all the time at Conference level. There's been a lot of pain at times but they've stuck to their task and with more experience we will win the close games." With Howard Jackson already back in America, Solent found themselves another player short when Adam Willis pulled out with a hamstring problem. They started slowly, falling 15-7 behind before David Butterworth and Dominique Jones combined to net eleven points. Player of the year Mark Jackson then stole possession to level (23-23) with just eight seconds remaining of the first quarter. That should have been enough to close out the quarter but inexperience again told as Ware were given the space to get in three shots in those remaining seconds, finally scoring just before the buzzer. That seemed to spark renewed determination in the Stars ranks and a burst of three pointers from the side's top scorers Mark Jackson (556 for the season) and Butterworth (535) put them in the box seat. That second quarter saw Solent at their best as they went on to lead 45-39. A quiet start to the third quarter was indicative of what was to come as points largely dried up for Solent. Anthony Rutter did break through three times before Chris Sheldrick spilled a late rebound that enabled Ware to level (64-64). The final quarter was, unfortunately, rather one sided as Solent were outscored 11-2 in the opening couple of minutes. They never recovered from that as the final minutes of the season were spent chasing a lost cause as Ware carefully retained possession. Scorers: Butterworth 22, Jones 20, Jackson 13, Rutter 11, Vingoe 8, McDonald 2. Solent finish the season in ninth place in the league - at least avoiding a long trip to Teeside for a play-off match