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Solent find road joy             Round-Up NBL Conference: Coventry 73 Solent 103 Solent Stars won their first away league match of the season in a convincing fashion in a game that they controlled throughout, Coventy again haplessly out-gunned as the Midlands outfit crashed to a 103-73 reverse. The foundation for the win was laid in the first quarter when Solent's defence restricted Coventry to just one score from open play with six of their eight points coming from the free throw line.  However, the opening minute of the game saw some wayward shooting from the Stars with Dominique Jones off target with a couple of early three point attempts.  He was shown the way by Mark Jackson who  landed a three pointer after a couple of opening baskets by Howard Jackson.  The three pointer came after Coventry's only basket in the quarter and was followed by a three pointer from Jones to give Solent  a 10 - 2 lead in the third minute.  This lead was increased when David Butterworth announced his return to fitness as he joined the game in the seventh minute and scored with his first touch.  Butterworth, Jones and H. Jackson continued to pile on the points to give Solent a 23 - 8 lead at the end of the quarter.  Coventry came more into the game in the second quarter but not until Solent had gone into a 30 - 10 lead by the second minute.  Solent's defence became a bit lax and they were guilty of several turnovers  which gifted Coventry welcome points.  Coventry's revival was halted however when Mark Vingoe, Anthony Rutter, Howard Jackson and Jones all added points without a reply from the home team. An injury to Dominique Jones marred the third quarter for Solent as he had to leave the game for five minutes to receive treatment for blurred vision after a knock whilst rebounding under the basket.  Solent were playing fluent basketball with coach Mark Scott  constantly encouraging his squad and making frequent substitutions to keep up the team's pace.  Five three pointers in the quarter from Butterworth (2) Mark Jackson (2) and Jones ensured a steady supply of  Solent points. Solent also edged the final quarter to demonstrate their superiority in the game.  Dominique Jones returned to the fray to add six more points to his impressive shooting display but coach Scott was quick to acknowledge that it was the team performance that had been the main feature.  The scoring feature of the match for Solent was the  twelve successful outside three point shots of which Jones landed five.   Hackney 78  Manchester 92 A continuing lack of composure when the game is on the line, again cost  Hackney dearly as they fell to another disappointing defeat in their latest NBL Conference match.  This was a confrontation with Manchester Magic, which brought together two of the country's leading development clubs who operate  almost exclusively with home grown British talent. The game was evenly matched at 14-11 to Magic before five successive free throws for Steven Gayle gave the visitors an eight point edge.  Perry Lawson  and Jacob Molina traded three pointers, but White Heat could get no nearer and ended the first quarter down 26-18; Manchester having hit 9 from 9 from  the foul line. Magic hit the first four of the second period before Hackney's Paul Guede replied with four of his own, but from 32-23 Manchester made a 9-0 run to establish an 18 point lead that would eventually prove so decisive.  Ikenne Mokwe helped the home side recover slightly but they found themselves trailing 47-33 at the half. But the interval seemed to signal the arrival of the old Hackney spirit.  With players deciding to pass the ball to each other, the deficit was slowly reduced.  A 12-8 run, including three pointers from Modeste and Guede, brought the margin back to 10 after 5 minutes.  Then another 8-2 stretch, starting and ending with treys from Richard Marson, made it 57-53.  A 7-0 run for Manchester, brought about by poor shot selection from White Heat, took it out to 11, before a 6-2 run at the end of the quarter for the hosts left the match at 65-59 with one period remaining and it all to play for. But every time Hackney get within touching distance of the lead, a red mist seems to descend over their players.  A 6-0 Manchester run extended their advantage to 11 before home baskets from Lawson and Batimba got it back to 8.  Excellent foul shooting restored the double digit lead before three foul  shots from Lawson and a two from Modeste made it 79-74 to Manchester with two minutes to play.  But Manchester composure was always the greater and they ended the match with a 13-4 run to take a deserved win with perhaps a slightly flattering margin. In the battle of the point guards, Hackney's Perry Lawson edged out the highly touted Steven Gayle 23 to 22 but, of course, that is to no avail.  Manchester's 26 from 32 from the foul line had been a major factor although Hackney's 24 from 38 was an improvement over recent weeks.  Hackney travel to Oxford next Saturday in what is a must win game to give themselves the chance of masking the end of season play-offs. 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