The Townsville Crocodiles cemented their place in the NBL top two after beating the New Zealand Breakers 122-113 at the Swamp.

The Crocs were best served by hard working import Larry Abney who pulled down 17 rebounds to go with 27 points while skipper John Rillie and centre Casey Calvary both added 21.

New Breakers import Brant Bailey continued his impressive form with 28 points while sweet shooting guard Aaron Olson added 26.

Down by 18 at one stage in the fourth term, the Breakers launched a stunning fightback, getting within three late in the game.

Crocs coach Ian Stacker said it was a worrying sign that his team let the Breakers back into the game.

"We kind of stopped playing and hoped they would sort of lie down and it was a bit of a worrying sign that we did go to sleep a little bit," Stacker said.

"Full credit to New Zealand they kept competing the whole game."

It was a somewhat disappointing homecoming for New Zealand head coach Andrez Lemanis, who spent several seasons as deputy to Crocs coach Stacker.

The rookie mentor admitted a lack of experience cost his team at times during the game.

"I guess from my point of view we're still a young group and relatively inexperienced at this level and we're finding a way to play for 48 minutes," Lemanis said.

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