Hoop dreams now reality for Henson
■ The former SSHS standout and current Vermont junior is heading to the NCAA Tournament.
Payton Henson’s basketball dreams have become a reality this season at Vermont.
Henson, a 6-foot-8 former Siloam Springs All-State center and the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer, is heading to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this week after he and the Catamounts defeated Albany (N.Y.) 56-53 in the America East Conference Tournament championship game Saturday in a nationally televised game from Patrick Gym in Burlington, Vt.
Henson helped the Catamounts get there, scoring a game-high 17 points, including a crucial three-point play late in the game to give Vermont the lead for good. Henson — in typical Siloam Springs basketball fashion — then took a charge on the other end defensively as the Catamounts clinched their spot in the Big Dance.
Vermont (29-5) also won its
nation’s-best 21st straight game in the process, and the Catamounts were given a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 4 Purdue at 6:27 p.m. Thursday in Milwaukee, Wis.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Henson said Sunday. “It’s been a long journey to get to this point and a lot of hours put into winning the championship, so to finally accomplish this goal is just amazing. It’s hard to put into words.”
Vermont blazed through the America East Conference schedule with a 16-0 record, but the Catamounts still had to win the conference tournament to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
That looked very much in doubt in the second half when the Catamounts trailed Albany 47-38 with less than nine minute remaining in the second half.
Vermont rallied to tie the game 52-52 when the clock ticked under a minute, and that’s when Henson went to work.
With 38.5 seconds left, Vermont guard Trae BellHaynes drove the baseline and whipped a pass to Henson who cut inside for a basket-and-one to give the Catamounts the lead for good to the delight of the home crowd at Patrick Gym.
“I had the easy part of making the layup,” Henson said. “I have to give a lot of credit to TBH on the drive and pass to me right under the basket.”
Henson then drew an offensive foul on Joe Cremo with 17 seconds left on the other end — a play kids playing basketball at Siloam Springs have specialized over the years.
“Cremo drove to the basket and I was in the spot to take the charge because of the way we position ourselves off the ball in our defensive system,” Henson said.
The two plays were highlighted on Sunday night at the annual Siloam Springs basketball postseason banquet held at the Simmons Great Hall on the campus of John Brown University.
“It wasn’t long ago that Payton was up here receiving these same awards,” said SSHS boys basketball coach Tim Stewart to the attendees.
“I will forever be grateful that I had the opportunity to play for the coaches at Siloam,” Henson said. “They deserve a lot of credit for my growth as a basketball player and are a large reason why I’m in the position I’m in today.”
Henson scored 2,239 career points at Siloam Springs, was All-State three times and a two-time NWA Media Player of the Year.
Following his high school career he played two seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15) at Tulane before transferring to Vermont and sitting out the 2015-16 season via the NCAA transfer rule.
This season he’s made an immediate impact with the Catamounts, starting in 22 of 29 games and averaging 11.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
He’s hitting 52.3 percent of his field goals and averaging more than 26 minutes per game.
A highlight this year has been the Catamounts’ winning streak, which began Dec. 29 at Siena with a 76-60 win. They haven’t lost since.
“It’s been really fun,” Henson said. “We’ve just been taking it one game at a time and trying to stay in the present as much as possible. I can’t say enough about how fun it is to be a part of this team. This season has been really special.”
And Henson and the Catamounts have no plans to stop anytime soon, despite having to play a Purdue Boilermakers squad that went 25-7 overall, won the Big Ten regular season title with a 14-4 record and lost to Michigan 74-70 in overtime in the Big Ten Conference Tournament quarterfinals last Friday.
“We’re gonna try to play as long as we can,” Henson said. “It’s going to be fun. This is every basketball player’s dream and I can now say that I’m blessed enough to be able to experience it first hand. It still seems a little surreal.”
It’s been really fun. We’ve just been taking it one game at a time and trying to stay in the present as much as possible. I can’t say enough about how fun it is to be a part of this team. This season has been really special. Payton Henson Vermont junior and former SSHS standout