WITH the NBL1 East Men’s competition resuming over the weekend, a number of big performances headlined Round 4’s action, including a powerful scoring showing from Ben Henshall.

The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (BA CoE) claimed an emphatic triumph over the Norths Bears at AIS Basketball and Netball Centre on Saturday night, storming away to a whopping 46-point triumph to continue their perfect start to the season, now sitting 6-0.

The Bears managed to match the opposition’s intensity and scoring output in the first quarter, trailing by just two points heading into the second. However, a dominant patch on the eve of halftime where the CoE outscored Norths 29-8 heading into the second half completely changed the momentum of the match. The home side continued to own the contest in the final two quarters to cruise home to a 114-68 win.

Leading the way for the victors was Henshall, who was a driving force on the offensive end as he led the CoE to a winning score. At just 19 years of age, the upcoming season with BA CoE should be the perfect platform for the youngster to display his talent.

Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (114) def. Norths Bears (68)

Ben Henshall – 29 points, three rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block

Henshall was the most damaging factor in a magnificent performance from CoE as a team, standing above the rest of the players on the court with an eye-catching offensive showing.

His 29 points was a game-high figure, with the CoE captain showing a magnificent level of composure and skill against an underperforming Bears defence.

Henshall was a driving force in the game-defining second term, sparking his side from the first play by finishing through some tough contact before converting the and-one at the free throw line. Remarkably, he did the exact same a couple of minutes later, and had 12 of his 29 points in that quarter alone.

The six-foot-five swingman shot 60 per cent from the field over the span of his 26 minutes on the court, nailing nine shots on 15 attempts. All nine makes came from inside the arc, often looking to drive inside and put up floating shots close to the rim, and even throwing down a few dunks as the seas parted to the rack.

Henshall was not a one-trick pony by any means, also proving quite a damaging playmaker with ball in hand. He managed to find his teammates through excellent hand-off and dish-out passes, and got every player involved with his outstanding vision. Although he was firing on the scoring front, Henshall was still unselfish and did not take any bad looks.

Suiting up for the CoE is the perfect situation for Henshall, and Saturday night’s performance indicated he may be in for a big campaign in the 2023 season.