On Tuesday, the Northeast Lauderdale basketball teams traveled to West Lauderdale, where both teams failed to produce enough on the offensive end to return with a victory. The Northeast girls fell 47-42 in a back-and-forth matchup before the boys team lost 42-27 after the Knights trailed throughout.

West Lauderdale girls 47, Northeast Lauderdale girls 42

On the night she was recognized for scoring 1,000 career points at West Lauderdale, Regan Andrews dropped 27 more to lead her team to victory.

Northeast Lauderdale and West Lauderdale traded blows from the tip, but Northeast came out of the first half with a 20-19 lead. Coming out of halftime, the Trojans extended their lead to 24-19 with buckets from LaTia Powe and Jordyn Bolar.

Then the Knights changed the game with a 20-point run that extended into the fourth quarter and gave them a 39-24 lead. The Trojans outscored the Knights in the final quarter, but they lost the road game 47-42 after giving up the big run in the second half.

“We were hit and miss on the offensive end, but our defense created some offensive opportunities for us. We rebounded well tonight,” West Lauderdale coach Matt Lum said.

The Knights have been a streaky scoring team this season, often shifting between scoring droughts and offensive explosions, according to Lum. The Knights’ scoring streak came at the right time against the Trojans, and Lum said his team passed the ball well, moved well and finished around the rim.

Defense is often the decider in close games, and the Knights defended well enough to win Tuesday’s game. Trojans forward LaTia Powe scored 21 points, but the Knights limited Northeast guard Braylen Tingle to just seven.

“We always try to take away the team’s leading scorer and make the other ones beat us, and if we have to, we move to their second scorer if somebody gets going,” Lum said.

Andrews fell just short of scoring as much as the Trojans’ top two offensive options combined, but she was also a major contributor on defense and on the boards.

“It’s rare that you get a scorer that will play on both ends of the court, and she’s more than willing to do that,” Lum said. “She has confidence in her teammates. She dosen’t mind giving the ball up when she needs to, but she also knows there are times when she has to step up and do some things.”

West Lauderdale boys 42, Northeast Lauderdale boys 27

West Lauderdale came out and shut the Northeast Lauderdale offense down early before going up 6-0. The Trojans battled back in the second quarter to cut the West’s lead to 13-12, but the Knights went on a 9-2 run to take a 22-14 lead into halftime.

The Trojans could not put together a scoring run of more than four points in the second half, and the Knights’ dominant defense gave them a 42-27 home victory in the end. West Lauderdale coach Duran Clark said the Knights’ defensive strategy was to pack it in, contest shots and rebound.

“Defensively, we held them to 14 in the first half, 13 in the second half. We hang our hat on defense,” Clark said. “I was really proud to hold a team that well coached to 27 points.”

Northeast’s defense, led by speedy guards Davian Franklin, Jeremiah Clark and Nehemiah Clark, showed up to West to hold the Knights under 50. But, the Trojans needed more from their guards on offense to come out on top in this one. Jeremiah Clark put up three points, Nehemiah Clark scored two points and Franklin scored two points,

Xavier Butler and K.P. Peoples have scored loads of points for the Knights this season. The Trojans only scored 27 on Tuesday, though, so the Knights did not need to light up the scoreboard. Butler finished with 13 points, Peoples added 12 and Ty Spencer earned nine.

“It was a sluggish game,” Clark said. “We’ll take the 42.”