The Jets surprised fans to lead 18-17 at the first break and trailed 36-26 at the main break.

The half-time break appeared to take the enthusiasm out of the Jets, who were strangely lethargic in the third term as the Panthers quickly built a 21-point buffer (55-34) at the last break in play.

There would be no coming back for the Jets from that far back and the margin remained constant through the final quarter, as Panthers head coach Jeff Cooper sat his starter to give his bench players extended minutes.

``Defensively we were good and it was good opportunity to run the bench when we had such a big lead,'' Cooper said.

``We'll be a bit short-handed next week, as Bruce (Wells) tore his hamstring in the fourth quarter but our depth more than compensates for his absence.''

The Panthers head west to play the sixth-placed Bathurst Goldminers on Saturday night and should record another big win against the local team.

The Penrith State League women are also back in action this weekend and face an unusual double-header against the bottom-placed Blue Mountains Magic.

The Panthers head west to the Katoomba on Saturday for a 5.30pm game against the Magic, then return home on Sunday, to host the same opponent, at 3.30pm at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre.

The Jets State League men recovered from their big loss to the Panthers on Saturday night to annihilate the Goldminers 94-56 on Sunday and are now away to the Glebe Magic at 3pm this Sunday.

The Springwood Scorchers Men host the Bankstown Bruins at 7.30pm on Saturday night at Blaxland High School.

Penrith Panthers 76 (Josh Morehead 18 points, Rob Crane 17, Craig Blatch 9) def Hawkesbury Jets 52 (Graham Godwin 18)

Hawkesbury Jets 94 (Graham Godwin 20 points, Rhys Daley 19, Josh Plummer 15, Terry Mortimer 14, John Hamilton 12) def Bathurst Goldminers 56 (Tim Fogarty 15)