Townsville remains in the hunt for the eighth and final position in the NBL playoffs after defeating Brisbane 122-112 in a see-sawing clash at the Swamp.

Veteran Andrew Goodwin led the way for the home side with 24 points while new import Ruben Nembhard fell just short of triple double with 22 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds.

Former Townsville star Derek Rucker haunted the Crocs all night on his old stomping ground, knocking in a game-high 49 points for the Bullets.

Bobby Brannen chimed in with 25 points and Michael Hill had 12 for Brisbane.

The Bullets gave away too many fouls and turned over too much ball as they threw away the lead in the last quarter.

"Definitely frustrating," Brisbane coach Joey Wright said when asked what he thought of the foul count, which went against his side 24-39.

The Bullets though were hampered by their hands with the team turning the ball over on 27 occasions.

"We coughed up the foul and that definitely hurt us," Wright said.

After encouraging losses to big-guns Wollongong and Melbourne recently, Crocs Coach Ian Stacker was pleased the team continued its improvement.

"I said to the guys after the game I'm proud of how they played tonight," Stacker said.

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