After the City Reapers took care of business against Word of God to move to 11-1 on Monday, they now turn their attention back to the YNG Dreamerz for a rematch that decides the season series.

Last Friday, the Dreamerz became the first team to beat the City Reapers as they took them down 71-61 at OTE Arena.

This matchup will go a long way in determining who has the inside track on having the one seed in the playoffs.

Player of the Week

The YNG Dreamerz Alexandre Sarr and Word of God’s Jayden Quaintance have both been named Overtime Elite Co Player of the Week after both having great weekends, helping their teams win.

Sarr was a defensive force in the Friday night battle against the Reapers helping slow down Amen and Ausar Thompson as the Dreamerz went on to win 71-61. On Saturday night, he had an efficient 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the 26-point win over the Falcons.

Quaintance saw his first action with Word of God and it was against his old team in Hillcrest Prep as they played two games over the weekend. He picked up exactly where he left off, helping the Holy Rams go 1-1 on the road. In the two games, he averaged 23 points and 16.5 rebounds per game. He shot 20-28 from the field in the two games.

Raleigh Trip Recap

The City Reapers got back on track defeating the Word of God Holy Rams 95-81 on Monday night in Raleigh. It was a homecoming for Trey Parker and Eli Ellis and they both had good games.

Parker led the team with 23 points, hitting five threes in front of a bunch of family and friends. Ellis had nine points and six rebounds.

After building an 18-point lead at halftime, the Reapers cruised in the second half. The Holy Rams tried to make a small comeback in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too great.

Ausar Thompson had 17 points and seven assists. Amen Thompson had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

First Place on the Line this Friday

The YNG Dreamerz and City Reapers will go at it for the second time in a week with the season series tied 1-1.

The difference between the two games was the production of Amen and Ausar Thompson. In the first game, they combined for 51 points getting to wherever they wanted on the floor. They scored 51 of the team’s 87 points in the game.

In the second matchup, the Dreamerz came with a different game plan that was very effective. They had Alex Sarr guarding Ausar and their team defense was extremely strong throughout the contest holding them to only a combined 13 points. Despite the strong defense, the Dreamerz only won by 10 points though.

It’ll now be up to the Reapers to make adjustments on the offensive end to free up their stars. One major key might be a third ball handler taking more of the burden off of them bringing the ball up the floor every possession. It would allow them to run plays from the wing and make whoever is guarding them move much more off the ball.

Trey Parker Shows Out in Raleigh

Parker loves his hometown and had the opportunity to play in North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday, Parker matched his season high with 23 points hitting five three pointers in an OTE League game against Word of God. On Tuesday, they played a non-league game against Winston Salem Christian. He stayed hot scoring 21 points to once again lead his team on the night.

Parker also broke the single-game steals record against Winston Salem Christian with nine. The City Reapers as a whole forced 23 steals in the game and 31 turnovers.

It has just been four games since the big trade between the Cold Hearts and City Reapers, so the team will continue to gel with the more games that they play. If Parker can stay hot, it’ll be a big boost for the Reapers this Friday.

Remaining OTE Schedule

After this weekend, there are only two weekends left of the regular season with games the weekend of February 3-4 and February 10-11.

The Overtime Elite Playoffs will then begin on February 17. The championship will be set on February 25 after two rounds of playoffs. The two teams in the championship will then play a best of five series to determine who the OTE champion is.