“Was a war every night”: Eli Ellis shows respect to Tennessee signee Amari Evans days after mid-game clash between them

Four-star Tennessee signee Amari Evans ended his Overtime Elite run on Saturday after his City Reapers fell to Eli Ellis and the YNG Dreamerz during Game 4 of their OTE Finals clash. The shooting guard posted a heartfelt message on Instagram and listed what he had done in his two years in the league.

"OTE, Thank you❤️…….. 2 years…. 2 championship appearances…. 1x champ…. 2x DPOY…. 1x All OTE… #1OUT #govols🍊," Evans wrote in his caption.

In his post, he received several comments from fellow players, including Eli Ellis, with whom he had a heated moment during Game 1 of the OTE Finals.

"Was a war every night my dawg! Much respect.❤️," Ellis commented.

Eli Ellis comments on City Reapers star Amari Evans' post (Source: Instagram/@marriiiii1)

Things got heated in Game 1 between Ellis and Amari Evans with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter. The confrontation happened after Ellis hit a 3, and Evans confronted him. It became so animated that both players got ejected, but despite the moment, Ellis showed respect for his City Reapers rival with the comment.

Even without their MVP, the YNG Dreamerz held on with a 93-91 win. This happened despite five-star Meleek Thomas also playing for the City Reapers during the game.

The City Reapers tied the series 1-1 before the YNG Dreamerz won two straight to win the best-of-five series. The Dreamerz came into the series as the No. 1 seed while the Reapers were the No. 2 seed. The regular season series was tied at 1-1.

What Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said about four-star guard Amari Evans

In November, the Tennessee Volunteers had two major signings, both of whom were four-star recruits. One was DeWayne Brown II, and the other was Overtime Elite star Amari Evans.

Soon after Evans signed his letter of intent, Volunteers coach Rick Barnes released a statement regarding their latest recruit:

"Stylistically, he was one of the better fits in the country for us," Barnes said. "Amari comes from an AAU program, the New York Lightning, that we have had a lot of success with in our time here. He possesses toughness, shooting ability, skill and a superb basketball IQ.

"Amari hangs his hat on being a high-level defender, which is something that stood out right away to us. More than anything, though, he is a winner."

Amari Evans picked Tennessee over other strong contenders, such as Pitt and Xavier, though the Vols were considered the favorites to recruit him.