Wildcats teen Henshall shines in Boomers' win

The first-year Wildcat scored 14 points in 22 minutes of court time as the fast-finishing Boomers won 85-71 in front of a sell-out crowd at Red Energy Arena.

He scored 12 of his 14 points after half-time, including seven in the final term, as the hosts rallied from four points down at the final change and a double-digit deficit during the third term, outscoring their opponents 32-14 in the last.

Henshall also did plenty at the other end, reeling in three defensive rebounds to make the most of his opportunity in the green and gold.

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has predicted a bright future for "fearless" youngster Henshall, comparing him to Melbourne United star Chris Goulding.

“He’s talented, quick, can shoot the ball,” Goorjian said.

“He reminds me a bit of a young Chris Goulding, he’s got that to him and the thing I noticed right away is he’s fearless.

“He hasn’t been playing but he came into the game and you give him this much and he’s letting it go.

“He’s come into this with absolutely no fear and ready to go.

“Ben is an international player.”

Goorjian believes Henshall's Boomers experience can help both him and the Wildcats heading into their play-off series starting at RAC Arena on March 8.

"If you get into a five-game series or a three-game series, you've got a livewire with a lot of confidence coming in here that you can flip onto the court and feel pretty good about, so that's a Boomers thing," he said.

Dual championship-winning former Wildcat and Olympic bronze medallist Nick Kay led the Boomers with 21 points and 12 rebounds.