Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod hasn't pressed the panic button after the Hawks were pummelled 91-57 by a fired-up Perth Wildcats on Saturday night at Challenge Stadium.
The Hawks were shot down by the Wildcats' stunning performance from the three-point line, slipping back to fourth with a 10-9 win-loss record.
Of the whopping 33 shots they took from three-point land, the Cats knocked down 18.
Full coverage of the Wollongong Hawks Wollongong were without starting point guard Tywain McKee, whose immediate playing future remains clouded by a back injury.
Stop-gap starter Rhys Martin struggled against Perth's physical guards, making just 2/10 shots and racking up seven turnovers.
Typically, McLeod remained positive.
"We took a hit, but one of the things we spoke about after the game was that it could be one of the greatest learning curves we'll have all year," he said.
Down 20-12 at quarter-time, the visitors did well to hang tough and trail by 11 at half-time.
The margin was 15 after three periods before the Cats hit three straight threes to start the final quarter and romp to a comfortable victory.
Wollongong and Perth finished their four-game regular season series tied at 2-2, but the Wildcats boast the upper hand on a superior points differential.
The Hawks will be aiming to bounce back when they host the New Zealand Breakers on Wednesday night. They travel to Melbourne the following day for a Friday night date with the unpredictable Tigers.
"The only game we're thinking about is New Zealand. It's been that way for us all year and we're not going to change our thinking," McLeod said.
"People talk about a crucial stretch of the season or a crucial game, but they're all crucial games. We have to be totally focused on how we're going to play New Zealand and we have to make some adjustments in some areas we struggled with against Perth.
"They got after us and pushed us all over the floor, and we had to expect that given they were coming off a loss (to Townsville) and we didn't have Ty. They kept sending guys at us and went after us the whole time, and they wore us down completely.
"We really struggled to get anything going and get into any sort of offensive flow, and a lot of that was to do with how they defended us and made it extremely hard for us.
"It was a steep learning curve for us, and we have to turn it around and make some adjustments very quickly."
Shawn Redhage led Perth with 17 points, Stephen Weigh racked up 16, while Drew Williamson and Brad Robbins chipped in 14 and 11 respectively.
Back-up forward Tim Coenraad top-scored for the Hawks with 12 and Mat Campbell and Cam Tragardh had nine points apiece.
Wollongong hit just 3/9 three-pointers and were an ordinary 10/16 from the free throw line.
"The guys' endeavour was good and we hung in pretty well for three quarters, but our execution and decision-making was poor and we tried to fight them physically instead of playing it smart," McLeod said.
McKee is likely to undergo a second and more detailed scan of his back today.
The 23-year-old playmaker and NBL MVP candidate won't play against the Breakers and faces the very real prospect of being sidelined for the rest of the season.
"Hopefully we'll have a lot clearer picture of the extent of the situation after Ty has another scan," McLeod said.
"Obviously it's a real concern for everyone and it's important for Ty and for the team that we know exactly what the situation is going to be."
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