Portsmouth open an 11-point lead in the first half. Solent came back to lead 50–48 at half-time but midway through the second half Portsmouth led 73–72, before a final burst from the home side gave them a 106–91 victory. Americans Headd (32 points) and Shackleford (24 points) top scored for Portsmouth, while 17-year-old Nelson began a Portsmouth career that would ultimately last as long as the club. A burst pipe which delayed work on the Mountbatten Centre's main sports hall floor meant Portsmouth were back at Fleming Park on 26 January, this time for a 'home' clash with league leaders Kingston Kings. Admission prices were set at £2.50 for adults and £1 for juniors. Portsmouth had to borrow Kingston's red kit as they only had a white strip available and league rules at the time insisted that away teams wore white. The court was less than half full of spectators and the match did little to create an atmosphere, with Portsmouth trailing 20–8 after five minutes and 51–34 at half-time before finally losing 115–72. Again the Americans led the scoring, Shackleford netting 31 points and Owen 22, with nobody else in double figures for Portsmouth. A 91–79 defeat at Doncaster Panthers followed before the team made their Mountbatten Centre debut against Hemel & Watford Royals on 10 February, with one side of the bleachers used. Portsmouth led 23–19 midway through the first half but trailed 56–38 by the interval and eventually lost 104–79. Shackleford and Owen hit 25 and 24 points respectively, while future Portsmouth star Mike Spaid scored 17 for Hemel. Bill Davis completed his fixture-fixing task on 12 February, giving Portsmouth four different venues for their first four home games by arranging for the Manchester United match to take place at Winchester Recreation Centre. Four days later Danny Palmer signed a two-year contract, with his coaching role to become full-time in April 1985. The trip to Leicester Riders on 16 February ended in a 109–85 loss, but Portsmouth's first appearance at Havant Leisure Centre the following day offered the chance to climb off the foot of the table, if they could beat Bolton & Bury Hawks – who had one win to their name, against the former Turbos – by more than their margin of defeat at Bolton. Again the match was played with seating on only one side of the court, and the initial part-time nature of