Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Stivers Cotton - Cash Leads Tigers Over Meadowdale; #1 Ranked Player Drops 28 in Loss

Stivers Cotton - Cash Leads Tigers Over Meadowdale; 

#1 Ranked Player Drops 28 in Loss 

Tigers Face Taft Tonight 

The Stivers Tigers senior F Kelvin Cotton - Cash had been looking for a breakout game this season. He had some solid games, but nothing spectacular.  

The Stivers Tigers needed a good shooting perfromance as a team. 

For a night, both Cotton-Cash and the Tigers offense was able to find a rhythm as he helped lead the Tigers over the Meadowdale Lions last weekend.

The Tigers, who came into the season with high hopes, had some key factors on their behalf:

(1) Bringing back a coach from the area who came from winning championships 

 (2) Having a experienced team 

(3) Looking like a team in the summer who was in the running for a Dayton Public Schools title.

However, once the season started, poor shooting, turnovers, and inconsistent play has ruined the Tigers chances of winning the city.

While Cotton-Cash, son of former DPS All-League and College Standout Erica Cash (Patterson), and grandson of Dunbar legend and former NBA player Corneilius Cash, had been struggling with his shot early in the season, coach Bobby Porter never wavered.

 He stood on his faith of the talent and hard work that Cotton - Cash displayed this summer. 

And now it seems to be paying off. 

"These guys worked hard all summer. We are finally seeing some of that hard work pay off. I'm really happy to see Cotton-Cash have some success. We need that from him." Porter said. 

Cotton-Cash, a 6'5, lanky wing forward who has a lot in the tool box, scored 19 points on over 60% shooting, had 4 steals and hit 3 three-pointers on the night. 

Fellow senior and Top 10-15 player G Amaury Hawes dropped 15 while junior rising star G-F Gavin Wright dropped 16 in the big win. 

The #1 player in the initial Dayton Weekly Rankings (DPS) Sean Caldwell, Meadowdale F,  exploded for 29 in the loss. Caldwell is tied with Eric Brewer for the top scorer in DPS (18.5 ppg). 

But clearly for the Tigers, Cash is the key.

When Cotton-Cash plays well, the Tigers have a much better chance to win. However, sometimes being in a slump can hurt your demeanor, and cause you to stay in droughts longer than normal. And it was obvious in earlier games that Cotton-Cash was fighting the demons. 

 He has next level skills, and despite his early FG struggles he rebounds, can pass and has a lot to offer the team, especially rebounding and defense. 

But now is the time for Cash and the Tigers to step up, like teams in the past at Stivers.

They will face a gritty Taft team today. If Cash can continue to make improvements, look for a much tougher Tigers team come Mid-February. 

Cotton Cash just had a birthday so look for his fortune to change. 

Follow Cotton-Cash, Stivers and The Dayton Weekly for more content. 







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