It was two parts of the game, three-point shooting and defense that led Lincoln North Star to a 52-46 win over Lincoln Southeast on Friday.

Connor Musiel led the Gators with four 3-pointers and 16 points in the victory. North Star limited Southeast to just 13 first-half points, but the Gators couldn't quite get the Knights to back down in the second half.

Southeast's Jake Nannen drove for a layup trimming the lead to 31-26 early in the fourth quarter, but Musiel answered Nannen's basket with a three-pointer, and after North Star forced a turnover, Austin Horan put in a basket to build a 36-26 lead for North Star.

North Star connected on 10 of 14 free throws to end any hopes of a Southeast comeback.

Southeast only made 3 of 14 three-pointers, while North Star connected on 7 of its 14 three-pointers in the game. The Knights also committed 14 turnovers while North Star only had 6.

North Star improves to 7-5 with the win, Lincoln Southeast falls to 7-5 on the season with the loss.