COACH Mark Scott declared his Solent Stars side had "come of age" after watching them power confidently through to next month's Final Four play-offs at the Coventry Skydome (May 11/12).

Needing to win by more than two points to overturn a 98-96 first-leg deficit at Worthing Thunder, Scott's men zoomed out of the blocks and out of sight by the end of the first quarter.

From the moment evergreen veteran Alan Cunn-ingham broke the deadlock with a flamboyant three-pointer, you just sensed it was going to be Solent's night.

They raced 28-12 up in the opening phase and stubbornly held onto that advantage by outscoring their south coast rivals 26-22 and 22-21 in the next two quarters.

It was a far cry from the previous week's rollercoaster ride at Worthing where the lead changed hands no fewer than 15 times.

With tricky American John Bynum well chaperoned this time round, it was former Worthing coach Cunningham who dished out the bulk of punishment to his old club - and, boy, did he milk the applause of a boisterous Solent crowd who played a significant part in the victory.

Bynum managed only half of the 32 points he had mustered at Worthing, but there were major performances elsewhere in the side - most notably the gritty Nic O'Harabe who has grown in stature as the season has progressed.

Stars claimed steals, rebounds and three-pointers galore to leave shellshocked Worthing trailing 19-4 inside a frantic first five minutes.

A disjointed start to the second quarter gave Thunder a faint ray of hope, but three-pointers from young guns Trevor Donaldson, Steve Davison and Alan McDonald helped establish their most commanding first-half lead of 50-28 with two minutes remaining.

The third quarter also began scrappily until O'Harabe took a grip on proceedings.

A determined dunk midway through made it 64-48 and the 21-year-old Londoner finished on a run of three successive baskets and a coolly executed free throw.

Some loose play allowed Worthing to edge the last quarter 24-23, giving high-scoring pair Gaylon Moore (35) and Sean Hampton (26) a chance to boost their tallies before both of them fouled out in the closing stages.

Aptly, Cunningham rounded off proceedings for Solent just as he had begun - with another crowd-pleasing three-pointer.

"We're there!" gasped the delighted Scott.

"Ten guys came out tonight with a lot of desire. We sustained four good quarters and played some great defence. Al was like a hoover on the boards.

"I'm proud of these guys for having stuck it out through the year. They've truly come of age tonight.

"We've got Plymouth in the play-off semi-finals and have nothing to fear.

"These guys are really excited about going to Coventry and that's a lot of energy we can use."