For four minutes on Saturday night, the Sutherland Sharks got the jump on the Dubbo Rams.
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It was all they needed, running away to a 20-point lead before the Rams switched on in front of a healthy home crowd at Dubbo Sportsworld.
But captain-coach Damien Reid has taken comfort in the fact that after that four minute slump, the Rams kept pace with the undefeated Sharks, scoring right up to the final buzzer to fall 83-57.
"They got off to a really red-hot start," Reid said.
"They're a quality team ... they've always been one of the top teams in the comp ... and that's kind of where we hope to be in the near future hopefully.
"But after they got away from us the guys, we never gave up and that's the story of Dubbo basketball through the years, we don't have a 'lay down and die attitude'
"If we could take away those first four minutes ... I definitely see us pushing a team like Sutherland."
Canadian Rob Dewar scored a team high 21 points, while under 18s gun James O'Neill once again rose to the challenge with 10 points.
"James ... really helped control the game," Reid said. "He put pressure on them when we needed him to.
"He was definitely outmatched for size but he sacrificed his body on a number of occasions."
After opening their Waratah State League campaign with losses to the competition's top two teams, the Rams look forward to travelling to play the sixth-placed Queanbeyan Yowies.
"We've got a bit of work to do - we know that," Reid said.
"It's a process but if we've got the commitment of the guys and they're willing to put in the blood, the sweat and the tears then we can move forward and hopefully be playing finals basketball in the next couple of seasons."
