Last year's Waratah League grand finalists may have scored a 21-point win over the hosts on Saturday night but not before they were given one hell of a shock by the youthful Rams.

In new coach Tim Griffiths' first outing, the Dubbo side shocked the Lazers early, going on a scoring spree in the opening minutes to build a seven-point buffer.

Led by Kieran Osborn, Lithgow were able to grind their way back into the contest and trailed by just one at quarter-time.

The second quarter took on much the same script as the first, with Dubbo able to get the ball into good areas on offence, allowing the likes of Hayden Howell and Luke Griffiths good looks at the basket.

Dubbo shot away again but as the quarter wore on Lithgow were able to rally and once again they scored strongly late, turning an eight-point deficit into a 33-32 scoreline in favour of Dubbo when the buzzer sounded for half-time.

The match blew open in the third term though as the Lazers showed why they are one of the premier teams in the Waratah League, as they went on an 18-3 to start the second half and put the match firmly in their keeping.

In the end they won the term 24-10 to take a 13-point lead into the final change, and while at times the match threatened to get away from the Rams they rallied hard in the final 10 minutes.

Lithgow won the term 25-17 to leave the final scoreline 81-60 however Griffiths' men left the court having earned some healthy respect from the competition heavyweights.

Dubbo fans will get another chance to check out their team this Saturday night when the Rams host Wagga Heat at 5pm at the Wool Shed.

LITHGOW LAZERS 81 (Kieran Osborn 15, Michael Cox 11, Matt Hughes 9, Kurt Northey 9, Ben Newham 8, Blake Edwards 8, Nathan Akamarmoi 8, Adam Marjoram 7, Caleb Fitzpatrick 3, Ryley Hughes 2, Joss Wholohan 1) def DUBBO RAMS 60 (Hayden Howell 15, Luke Griffiths 11, Kristjan Reinhold 9, Shayne Dallinger 7, Daniel Medway 6, Damien Reid 5, Michael Bonney 3, Jordan Woolmer 2, Matt Buckley 2)