Solent Stars rang down the curtain on a second successive disappointing season with a lacklustre performance against Manchester Magic in front of one of their largest crowds of the season.

Already missing 6ft 10in Matt Crawford with a foot injury, Solent were no match in height for their bigger and more experienced visitors.

This was evident from the start of the game when Manchester stormed into a 20-2 lead by the seventh minute.

It took six minutes before coach Mark Scott called a time-out to try to stem the flow of points against the home team.

Scott, who recently defended his squad by saying that they were playing as best they can, must have been disappointed at their shooting performance in the first quarter as shots were both missed or not taken at all.

Chief offender in the shot avoidance category was Nick O'Harabe, who was left open at the top of the key on several occasions.

After the time-out, the arrival on court of young Ollie Marsh injected some life into the Solent attack.

A brief run of points brought Solent to within nine of Manchester, before the visitors extended their lead to 15 points at the end of the first quarter.

Twelve second-quarter points by Mark Jackson helped Solent fight back, but disaster struck in the third minute of the second half when team captain Jackson picked up his fifth and final foul.

Solent were trailing by 20 points at the time and it looked as if they would be completely overrun when two minutes later Manchester had extended their advantage to 78-48.

This proved to be the spur that Matt Story needed and he began to score more regularly, supported by O'Harabe.

In the final segment of the game, Tom Parker took up the scoring mantle for Solent as they rallied bravely.

After the game, the season's awards ceremony took place with the trophies being presented by John Amaechi, recently retired from the NBA.

The winners were: Players' Player - Mark Jackson, Most Promising Newcomer - Ollie Marsh, Runner-up Player of the Year - Matt Story, Supporters' Player of the Year - Mark Jackson.

Solent: Matt Story 31, Nick O'Harabe 18, Tom Parker 13, Mark Jackson 12, Ollie Marsh 6, Alan McDonald 4, Carl Duke 2

Attendance 485

Solent Stars' women came through a tough defensive battle 61-49 against Nottingham Wildcats to book their place in the English Basketball League Division 2 play-off final.

Michael Ball's team, who have already pulled off a Southern League/Trophy double, will face northern champions Birmingham on April 25.

Sarah Cooper and Katerina Syngellakis scored ten of Solent's first 12 points between them but, with Nottingham's American star Britney Scarberry finding her range from the three-point line, Wildcats were well in touch at 17-15 by the end of the first quarter.

Solent led 25-19 at the break and their perimeter shooting improved after the restart with Lizzie Cloke, Claire Wiseman and Lynn Powell all sinking threes.

But Nottingham's dogged refusal to lie down kept them in contention until Vikki Willmore scored two quick baskets and Wiseman, Cloke and Powell stretched the lead to 19.

Solent squad: Wiseman 12, Powell 11, Cooper 10, Willmore 9, Syngellakis 6, Cloke 5, Brownsell 4, Rourke 4, Ball, Jones.