Red Tape trailed for most of this one, but the second half belonged entirely to them — and specifically to SmooveAp. The go-ahead bucket came with 2:27 left in Q3, when SmooveAp drained a three to put Red Tape up 44-41 for good. From there, Red Tape outscored Hoop Dreams 23-12 in Q3 and 22-11 in Q4 to pull away 76-59 in regulation.

SmooveAp was the story of the night, finishing with 39 pts, 8 ast, and 2 stl on a scorching 13-of-20 FG and 11-of-17 from three — including a three at 2:17 that made it 60-54 and another at 0:54.0 that pushed the lead to 70-56. Deedthegod quietly put together a triple-double for Red Tape — 10 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast, and 5-of-6 FG — with a dunk at 1:07 that stretched the lead to 67-56. On the other side, xHydra2k kept Hoop Dreams alive with 25 pts, 8 ast, and a perfect 4-of-4 FT, while IlswingplzIl chipped in 14 pts and 9 reb going 6-of-9 FG without a turnover.

This was a rematch on the same day — Hoop Dreams had already beaten Red Tape 71-63 earlier on Oct 14, and came in riding a hot stretch. Red Tape answered with a vengeance, evening the day's ledger and moving to 9-9 in the Midwest Esports Association standings.