CENTERTON -- Bentonville West must wait another month before it gets another shot at its first regular-season home victory.

Jack Eaton's two free throws with 1 minute, 8 seconds remaining snapped a 49-49 tie, and he hit five more in the final 38.9 seconds to give unbeaten Huntsville a 56-51 victory during Tuesday's nonconference action in Wolverine Arena.

Huntsville 56, Bentonville West 51

Huntsville^7^19^15^15^—^56

West^15^11^10^15^—^51

Huntsville (6-0): Eaton 24, Bohannan 17, Stegrist 6, Pemberton 5, Yarbrough 4.

West (2-3): Muldrew 15, Hornsby 11, Rutherford 7, Ray 6, Blackburn 5, Gibson 2, Larsen 2, Young 2, Hill 1.

"Eaton's a very good player -- one of the best in the area," Huntsville coach Jim Stafford said. "He's definitely one of the better players in our district.

"He had a bunch of free throws and some key field goals. They came back, but I didn't think our guys would fold. I've been with them too long, and we were fortunate to make some shots and made our free throws."

West (2-3) trailed by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter, but came back to tie it at 47 with five points in a two-second span. Gabe Hornsby hit a bucket and was fouled at the 2:51 mark, then Levi Rutherford grabbed the missed free throw and was successful with his three-point play attempt.

Ty Bohannan put Huntsville back in front with two free throws, only to have Hornsby tie it again with a dunk off his missed shot before Eaton put the Eagles in front to stay. Eaton, who finished 16 of 20 at the free-throw line and had a game-high 24 points, added three more to give Huntsville (6-0) a 54-49 cushion with 17.6 seconds remaining.

"I told our boys all day that's your tradition program," West coach Greg White said of Huntsville. "They just had a few more basketball players than we did. I thought we were more athletic and bigger, but it's a basketball game. It's not a track meet or a weightlifting competition.

"It's about making plays, and we're getting there. Jack Eaton's been good since I can remember him as a sophomore. He knows how to play and made some good plays. We just didn't match that, but it gives us a chance to learn."

West grabbed an early 15-6 lead, but Huntsville bounced back to force a 26-26 halftime deadlock. The Wolverines then took the lead to start the second half on a Collier Blackburn bucket, only to have the Eagles run off the next 11 points for a 37-28 cushion.

Bohannan was the only other Huntsville player in double figures with 17 points.

Cobe Muldrew had 15 points and Hornsby 11 for West, which returns to action Saturday in Memphis and won't play on its home floor again until the 7A-West Conference opener Jan. 6 against Van Buren.


