The Townsville Crocodiles beat ladder-leaders Perth 122-109 to extend their NBL winning streak to eight.

It was the Wildcats' second loss in as many days after a surprise two-point defeat to eighth-placed Cairns on Friday night.

The Crocs' victory means they'll continue to grow their now-bushy beards after vowing not to shave until their winning streak is over.

Townsville, the league's most improved team, was a nose in front for the entire match despite a valiant effort from the Wildcats.

An early scoring blitz from import Robert Rose gave the locals a 29-26 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

They held on to it in the second and led 61-59 at the break.

The Crocs briefly lost the lead for the first time in the third but their experience spooked them out of complacency.

Within minutes they streaked ahead and finished the third quarter 14 points up, maintaining a comfortable buffer until the end of the game.

Rose had a game high 30 points, followed by Pat Reidy with 25 and Andrew Goodwin's 16.

James Harvey top scored for the Wildcats with 24, with import Rob Feaster scoring 21 and guard Stephen Black and young centre Matthew Burston both notching 13.

"Hopefully we'll come out of this and be stronger for it or we'll collapse in a screaming heap, depending on how we react," Wildcats coach Alan Black said.

"The better teams react well."

Crocodiles coach Ian Stacker said the team would not rest on its laurels and had a new goal - to win its next two games on the road.

"(We need to) try to do something better now. We've got a tough road trip coming up with Wollongong and Brisbane - they're two tough games for us," he said.

Crocs veteran forward Reidy said the team finally felt like a winning side after a poor 3-11 start to the season.

"We're expecting to win now and that's the difference," he said.

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