The result worked out to an Astley Cup points split of 54-46 in Dubbo's favour, helping them claw back further ground after Bathurst crushed them in the tennis before Dubbo hit back with a win in the netball.

The margin was out to 15 points in Dubbo's favour in the basketball at one point early in the third term and a real blow-out was looming, before a rally from the hosts got them to within four points at one stage in the final quarter.

With more than a minute still on the clock there was every chance that Bathurst could have even pulled off a miraculous come-from-behind win, but a couple of missed shots and some steady play from Dubbo closed out the match.

"It got a lot closer than we wanted it to. We lost our heads a little bit there in the second half and Bathurst started to get a roll-on and really shot well for a while there," Dubbo coach Ben Madigan said.

"Once we calmed things down a bit in the last couple of minutes we worked our way back on top again. Basketball is a game of runs; we got on one in the first half, Bathurst got on one in the second.”

The contest was initially evenly matched, Dubbo going to quarter-time with a 15-10 lead.

They clearly started to gain the ascendancy in the second and but for some timely baskets approaching the main break, Bathurst’s deficit could have been a bit worse than the 31-19 scoreline.

Dubbo pressed hard to break the resistance of the home team but with a vocal crowd getting behind them, Bathurst started to gain the upper hand and by three-quarter-time, the margin was down to nine points.

Dubbo were strong enough to earn the win, though, and take some more ground off their rival school.

"I'm very proud of my team. They've improved with every game they've played this year and that's all I can ask. There are boys that started in this team in Year 7, they're now in Year 12 and about to leave. It is a bit sad in a way," Bathurst High coach Katrina Ferris said.

"They stayed focused into the second half, which is what I asked of them. They worked their way back into it and clawed back a lot of ground which is vital in the context of the overall score."