FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas forward Michael Sanchez started Monday night’s exhibition opener against Campbellsville (Ky. ) University, but quickly found himself on the bench.

Sanchez, a 6-8 redshirt freshman from Springdale Har-Ber, was called for two fouls in a 10-second span and came out of the game with 18: 44 left in the first half.

“After the first couple of karate chops, I thought he did very well,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said. “I thought he settled down and did some good things.”

Sanchez finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in 23 minutes to help the Razorbacks win 103-58 at Walton Arena.

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Perhaps most impressively, he committed just one more foul in his final 21 minutes on the court.

“I thought it was a good start for him,” Pelphrey said. “Certainly he needs to get better and the competition will get much tougher.”

Sanchez redshirted last year because of Arkansas’ experience and depth on the front line. He hadn’t played in a game with the Razorbacks since last season’s exhibition against West Florida, so he understandably was excited to be in the starting lineup.

Then Sanchez felt the frustration of going to the bench barely more than a minute into Monday night’s game.

“It’s kind of like having something, and then having it shut off real fast,” he said. “But I got back out there in the second half and was pretty pumped up about that.”

Sanchez said it will take him some time to make the transition from competing in practice to playing in games, especially when it comes to how fouls are called. The fouls he was called for Monday might not have been a big deal in practice, Sanchez said.

“But you’ve got to differentiate between the two, what you can and can’t do in a game,” Sanchez said.

Pelphrey found positives in the Razorbacks’ 45-point victory, but he also pointed out that Campbellsville, an NAIA team not to be confused with rugged SEC powers Kentucky or Mississippi State, grabbed 17 offensive rebounds.

“At times, we rebounded the ball like a high school team, and that wasn’t exactly like going against Patrick Patterson and Jarvis Varnado and some of the other guys we’ll be going against as time goes on,” Pelphrey said.

Pelphrey said the Razorbacks need to get rebounding help from every player, including 5-10 freshman point guard Courtney Fortson, who will be in the lineup for Thursday night’s exhibition game against Dillard University after being suspended Monday night for an undisclosed disciplinary reason.

Sanchez said improving the rebounding will be a focal point in practice.

“I think rebounding is from the heart,” Sanchez said. “So we’re going to have to put a lot of heart into it the next couple of weeks and work on getting good position and blocking out.”

Pelphrey said he isn’t concerned about Sanchez’s heart.

“His heart’s in the right place,” Pelphrey said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s physically big and strong, and from a ball-handling and passing standpoint, he can really present problems at his position.”

Pelphrey said he expects Sanchez to adjust his play and that fouls won’t be a recurring problem.

“He’s a very physical player and doesn’t mind contact,” Pelphrey said. “But I fully anticipate him learning what he can and can’t do out there.”