An exciting North v. South battle is about to be fought. The Lincoln Southeast Knights will face off against the Lincoln North Star Navigators at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Lincoln Southeast sitting on three straight victories and Lincoln North Star on four.
Last Monday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Lincoln Southeast beat Lincoln Northeast 52-47.
Lincoln Southeast's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Prospedi Mukendi led the charge by going 5-for-10 on his way to 12 points and eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Mike Ngoyi, who posted 11 points.
Lincoln North Star not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since January 29th. They blew past Kearney 68-47. The Navigators have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 21 points or more this season.
Lincoln North Star's win came from a few key players Lincoln Southeast will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was J'Shawn Afuh, who shot 58% from the field en route to 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sam Schaefer, who made all 5 shots he took for 14 points.
Lincoln North Star was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matches.
Lincoln Southeast's record now sits at 16-8. As for Lincoln North Star, they pushed their record up to 20-5 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Lincoln Southeast has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Lincoln North Star struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Lincoln Southeast skirted past Lincoln North Star 50-47 in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lincoln Southeast since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
