According to coach Mark Scott, Solent Stars haven't shown enough heart in some of the defeats that put them out of the National Trophy.
On Saturday, he drew the response he would have been looking for after making those comments as Solent retrieved a seemingly hopeless position to improbably win this cup tie. If there was any doubt about desire, commitment and a willingness to keep on going to the final whistle, it was surely answered by this performance as Solent chased down a ten-point deficit to bring about the kind of win that should kick-start their season. As the team came together in a post match huddle of celebration, no one was more satisfied than Scott, who admitted: "I'm proud of all the guys. They reached down and found something in themselves. It was a tremendous performance." A place in the third round draw hadn't seemed all that likely as Solent began the last quarter 76-85 behind, with Paul Mundy-Castle fouled out of the game and both Matt Crawford and Duane Laight only one foul away from joining him on the bench. As if that wasn't enough, Kingston had scored so consistently throughout the match that you couldn't see any way that they wouldn't add to their total. Perhaps mindful that they already had a decent lead, Kingston probably became cautious too early as they looked to run down the clock. Instead of playing the game that had put them into a winning position, Kingston sat too deep, snatched at the few chances they did create and were unable to turn their game around as Solent grew in confidence. For that, they had captain Mark Jackson to thank for some tireless chasing and harrying that forced errors from the Kingston defence. Solent still had to take advantage of those errors, and again Jackson led by example with seven successive points to close the gap from 81-91 to 88-91. Although Kingston then scored a basket of their own, they were very much on the back foot by now as Stars, urged forward by their fans, sensed that they could go on and win the match. Nick O'Harabe, who had a much better second half, scored as did Laight before Matt Story followed up with a timely 38th minute interception to break down court. The resulting basket put Solent ahead (94-93) for the first time since the 25th minute and when the top scorer struck again moments later, Solent had outscored Kingston 18-2 in six minutes of high pressure, thrilling basketball. There were still some anxious moments to come as Kingston ran in the next two baskets to leave Stars just one point ahead (99-98) with twenty seconds to play. But the home team were in no mood to let this one slip as Crawford twice netted from the free throw line to complete a remarkable comeback. A close outcome had always looked likely in what had been a very even game until a period of mayhem midway through the third quarter saw three technical fouls given against Solent by whistle-happy referees. The disruption and high foul count looked to have cost them the game until that last quarter turnaround. Scorers: Story 28, Jackson 26, Crawford 24, O'Harabe 12, Mundy-Castle 6, Laight 5.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article