David Butterworth produced a superb performance, scoring 29 points, as the Solent Stars came within inches of recording their first win of the season against the Worthing Thunder last night.

In a Jekyll and Hyde weekend, he put behind him the previous night's below par performance and gave an almost unerring display of basketball, scoring freely both from beyond the three-point line and inside.

This was not, however, a one-man show as the rest of the team stepped up their game, but it was

not quite enough and they were defeated 87-84.

The Stars took an early 16-4 lead as Worthing struggled to get into the game. They had suffered their first defeat in the National Trophy the previous night at Sutton and it seemed to be playing on their minds.

Trevor Donaldson, who scored 11 points in the quarter, including three three-point plays, ably assisted Butterworth.

With the score at 24-12 to Solent, Worthing coach Gary Smith called timeout but, with Gaylon Moore mishandling, Solent managed to extend their lead.

The second quarter began similarly to the first with Butterworth scoring four quick points but the Thunder were moving a lot better now and finally edged into the lead with six minutes remaining in the quarter.

Solent began to struggle with their shooting and, with Worthing rebounding better, they began to fall behind.

Not to be denied, however, they rallied with three pointers from Butterworth and Mark Jackson and a two from Adam Willis to end the half only four points behind at 48-44.

Alan McDonald's two three-pointers late in the quarter were cancelled out by Worthing's Rani Malik, who scored two of his own. And despite Anthony Rutter adding three points to the Stars total, they still trailed by seven at the end of the quarter.

Butterworth came back into the game and scored another seven points and the Stars threatened an upset but Worthing were just doing enough to keep in front.

The Stars were victims of a controversial refereeing decision after a timeout with four minutes to go.

Worthing inbounded the ball with two seconds on the shot clock and, with Moore failing to score from under the basket, the referee called a 24-second violation only, it appeared, to be overruled by the Commissioner.

The subsequent jump ball gave the ball back to Worthing who scored from the resulting play.

Solent were in no mood to give the game up and Donaldson scored five points to bring the Stars back to within one point.

Butterworth's hurried three-point shot just failed to put Solent in the lead and Moore effectively clinched the game for Worthing with two points at the other end.

There was still time for Jon Neale to steal the ball but his shot, which would have sent the game into overtime, hit the rim and bounced out.

Solent, who should be joined by American Dominque Jones tomorrow, have two homes games next week against North West London and Worthing respectively.

Solent Stars (25, 44, 68,) 84: David Butterworth 29, Trevor Donaldson 16, Alan McDonald 12, Mark Jackson 11, Adam Willis 8, Anthony Rutter 5, Jon Neale 3.

Solent Stars fell to another defeat against London United on Saturday night after a poor first quarter where they were unable to capitalise on their opportunities. Despite keeping in close contention for the remainder of the game, they eventually lost 98-67.

The Stars' squad was severely weakened by the loss of flu victims Chris Glover and Simon Morgan, while Chris St Omer was unavailable to make the trip.

London opened an 8-0 lead before Solent got on the score sheet with a three-pointer from Butterworth.

Unfortunately, this was to be a false dawn as Butterworth was unable to repeat his recent excellent form.

Coach Mark Scott called a time out as the Stars struggled at 17-7 down, but the team were unable to respond and were 29-12 in arrears at the end of the quarter.

London picked up their first foul two minutes into the second quarter but soon found themselves in foul trouble as the Stars upped their offence.

However, the Stars were unable to gain any advantage despite a three-pointer from Mark Jackson, as their shooting from the free throw line let them down.

The second half began the same way as the first with a three-pointer from London's Tom Hull, but this time the Stars responded with an another three-pointer from Mark Jackson.

Adam Willis picked up his fourth foul with seven minutes to play in the third quarter and was forced to sit down, being replaced by Butterworth.

Anthony Rutter opened the scoring in the final quarter with a three-pointer and things looked up for Solent when London's Kitipis fouled out having scored ten points, Adam Willis converting the two free throws.

However, London had more strings to their bow and continued to pile on the pressure. When Donaldson and Ollie Marsh scored in the final quarter, all of the Stars had contributed to the scoring. London failed to reach 100 when Tayo Adulayo missed an easy slam-dunk in the final seconds.

Solent Stars 67: Adam Willis 14, Mark Jackson 13, David Butterworth 12, Jon Neale 10, Anthony Rutter 7, Ollie Marsh 5, Trevor Donaldson 3, Alan McDonald 3.