Big brother verse little brother.

And Saturday was no different between Scott Balsar's Kennedy's Tours youth league men's side and John Hargreaves' Hawks side - especially when you consider these two sides met in last year's division two grand final.

Coming into the Waratah League match at the Snakepit, the Cubs had a 3-2 record and the hosts a 2-2 one.

But that meant little when both teams stepped on the court.

Knowing how important a fast start was going to be, the Cubs jumped out of the blocks in the fist quarter, to lead 24-14 after one period - thanks to nine points from Kyle Leslie.

This dominance continued in the second quarter, as Balsar's troops stretched their lea to 16 points (47-31) at the main break.

But the third term belonged to the hosts, who outscored the black and gold by 12 points, to trial 59-55 heading in the final quarter.

"Half-time didn't help us at all, as we hadn't been in that situation all season - we'd been trialling in at half-time all the other matches leading up to that point," coach Balsar said.

"It was a psychological thing we need to work on, because when you lead by as many as 21 points in a match, you shouldn't lose - we really should have kept the foot on the throat."

To the Cubs credit, they stemmed the Hawks ascendancy in the fourth quarter and never relinquished the lead until the hosts tied the game up at 75-all in the final minute - which is how the match ended, sending the game into overtime.

The visitors ran out of steam in the extra period, not scoring a single point, to lose 82-75.

"To the boys credit, they really fought hard in that fourth quarter, to keep the lead," Balsar said.

"But we just ran out of gas in the overtime period, as our guards were under immense pressure all game.

"That combined with poor decisions and shot selection really cost us, but I'm sure all the boys will learn from it."

In the loss, Gavin Costain, who has previously played for the Hawks, top scored with 25 points, while Leslie (20) and Luke Smith (11) also reached double figures.

The Cubs next return to the floor this Saturday, when they battle Penrith from 2pm at the Tigers Den.