Huntsville's Jack Eaton believes his third state tourney trip will be the best yet.
With four senior starters along the perimeter, Eaton and the Eagles are primed for a serious run at the at the Class 4A state basketball tournament, and they open against Bauxite at 8:30 p.m. today in Nashville.
At A Glance
Jack Eaton
SCHOOL Huntsville
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 6-4
WEIGHT 175
POSITION Guard
NOTABLE Eaton is being recruited by several in-state colleges for both basketball and baseball. For the Eagles’ baseball team last season, he batted .393 with 15 RBIs and 15 runs and also made several appearances as a pitcher with a sidearm delivery.
CLASS 4A
Nashville
BOYS
Today
Game 1 Jonesboro Westside vs. Pottsville, 2:30 p.m.
Game 2 Pulaski Robinson vs. Trumann, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3 Huntsville vs. Bauxite, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday
Game 4 Cave City vs. Subiaco, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 Warren vs. Game 1 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 6 Pea Ridge vs. Game 2 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 7 Baptist Prep vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 8 Nashville vs. Game 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9 Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game 10 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Championship
at Bank of the Ozarks Arena, Hot Springs
Game 11 Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, date and time TBA
GIRLS
Today
Game 1 Lonoke vs. Pottsville, 1 p.m.
Game 2 Dumas vs. CAC, 4 p.m.
Game 3 Ozark vs. Dollarway, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Game 4 eStem vs. West Fork, 1 p.m.
Game 5 Star City vs. Game 1 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 6 Berryville vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m.
Friday
Game 7 Pocahontas vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 Monticello vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9 Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, noon
Game 10 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m.
Championship
at Bank of the Ozarks Arena, Hot Springs
Game 11 Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, date and time TBA
On The Web
For more on this story, see the video at nwadg.com and arpreps.com
Eaton, Ty Bohannan, Alex Pemberton and Kenton Yarbrough are seniors who can light it up from the outside, or slash inside to score points in bunches. They're why Huntsville (28-4) went 10-0 in district play and are the No. 2 seed from the 4A North at this week's state tournament.
"We're at our best whenever all four perimeter players are getting open looks and knocking them down," Eaton said. "It's not any one of us taking the majority of the shots. That's when we've been the toughest to beat."
Eaton, a 6-foot-4, 175-pounder, averaged more than 15 points per game during the Eagles' three games at the 4A North Regional in West Fork. He was limited to a team-high 13 points against Pea Ridge because the Blackhawks fouled Eaton each time he appeared to get a slight opening for a shot. Still, he hit 7 of 8 free throws during the championship game loss.
In a 60-36 win over Dardanelle in the regional opener, Eaton had 23 points. He also led Huntsville with 20 points in a 46-39 loss against Pea Ridge in the 4A-1 Conference finals.
Despite Eaton coming out on the losing end of both meetings, Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd has been impressed.
"Jack Eaton is an incredible player," Loyd said. "Whoever gets him to play in college is going to get a heckuva player."
Huntsville's longtime coach Jim Stafford said he'll miss coaching the three-year starter. The past three seasons, teams featuring Eaton as a starter are a combined 79-14, including a 2-2 record in the state tournament.
"He's been a real solid player for us over the last three years," Stafford said. "He's a really good defender, a good shooter and a good scorer. He's been great for me to coach."
The past two seasons, the Eagles won in the opening round of the state tourney before falling in the quarterfinals. In 2014, Huntsville lost 65-42 against eventual state champion Monticello. In 2015, West Helena Central defeated Huntsville 66-51.
Bohannan, who made four 3-pointers and led the Eagles with 16 points to beat Pottsville in the regional semifinals, is close with Eaton. They've been playing together since the third grade and have the type of relationship where they can anticipate what the other is going to do before they do it. Knowing teammates' tendencies has helped Huntsville's offense click even more.
"He's our go-to guy," Bohannon said. "When we need a bucket, we go to him. If we need someone to guard the other team's best player, we go to him ... If you tell him to guard (former Bentonville standout and current Kentucky star) Malik Monk, he'll go out there and do it the best he could.
"He'll do what it takes to win."
That last part is what drives the Eaton and the Eagles the most. With half of the their losses coming against Pea Ridge, Bohannan and Eaton said they hope the Blackhawks can win their side of the bracket to set up a rematch in the state championship.
"I feel really good about where we're at as a team," Eaton said. "(Pea Ridge) just outplayed us -- both times -- so we'll hopefully get another shot at them in the finals."
Sports on 03/01/2017