FAYETTEVILLE -- Ethan Henderson played just 20 minutes in the University of Arkansas men's basketball team's first seven games, and he hadn't played at all in the previous three going into Tuesday night's matchup against Austin Peay.
But with Reggie Chaney and Adrio Bailey on the bench with two fouls each, and Jeantal Cylla struggling, Razorbacks Coach Eric Musselman turned to Henderson late in the first half. The 6-8 sophomore from Little Rock Parkview delivered.
Henderson provided a major lift to help the Razorbacks overcome a slow start for a 69-61 victory over the Governors.
After Cylla missed a layup and committed a frustration foul a second later that gave Eli Abaev two free throws -- which he hit to put Austin Peay ahead 17-16 with 7:26 left in the half -- Henderson came into the game.
Henderson played the rest of the half and had 4 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 1 dunk as the Razorbacks moved ahead 34-30.
"Phenomenal," Musselman said of Henderson's impact on the game. "Cannot give Ethan enough credit."
The announced crowd of 11,995 roared when Henderson blocked two shots by the 6-8 Abaev within a two-second span, then drew a foul for a possession that resulted in a layup by Mason Jones that put Arkansas ahead to stay at 20-18.
"The crowd here is smart. The crowd here has a high basketball IQ," Musselman said. "The crowd knew that Ethan came in with incredible energy and enthusiasm and played with great effort.
"It's no surprise that our crowd got into the game when Ethan came in. He looked fresher than the rest of our team."
Henderson got an offensive rebound and dunked for a 25-18 Arkansas lead.
"The dunk kind of surprised me," Jones said. "That was high school Ethan I was hearing about.
"So it was good to see him out there having fun, grabbing rebounds, just showing glimpses of what he can do to help us this year. I'm really excited for Ethan, and I hope he can continue this."
Henderson didn't play in the second half, but Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe said his contribution in his brief stint was huge.
"That's exactly what we expect from Ethan whenever he comes into the game," Joe said. "If he can play like that all year, he's going to earn his minutes, and he's going to help us tremendously."
Henderson, who averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in the first games he played, couldn't have been prominent on Austin Peay's scouting report, but he received plenty of praise from Governors Coach Matt Figger after the game.
"I think he was probably the savior of the first half for them because they had all their front-court guys in foul trouble and we were getting some momentum going," Figger said. "I thought his seven minutes gave them the interior spark that they needed.
"I thought he was very productive, protected the rim a few times, got some rebounds and did a pretty good job for them."
Henderson's energy also resulted in him being called for three fouls.
"He left his feet a couple of times, which a young player who hasn't gotten a lot of experience you would expect," Musselman said. "But just mentally to be ready to play at that juncture of the game when Adrio and Reggie both had foul trouble, I can't compliment Ethan enough."
Musselman said Henderson has worked hard in practice and that he was back on Nolan Richardson Court immediately after the game working on his perimeter shot.
"I just want him to continue working and having a great attitude, which he has exhibited," Musselman said. "Because he hasn't been given much opportunity and he came in tonight and he produced and he put himself in a better position than maybe he was going into the game.
"And I give him a lot of credit, because that's not easy to do."
In postgame interviews, it was clear how happy Jones and Joe were to praise Henderson.
"I think that's the sign of great teammates, that's the sign of a great locker room, that's chemistry, that's culture," Musselman said. "Our guys were really, really happy and pumped up to celebrate his success.
"You know, the worst thing in the world is if you're around a team or group of people who can't celebrate someone else's success, and guys are worried about, 'Well, he's got my minutes now.'
"We haven't had any of that. I was pumped up and jacked up for him, too, because he's patiently waited his turn and he got an opportunity for those seven minutes in the first half and he grabbed those minutes and played his heart out."
Sports on 12/05/2019