BARRINGTON — They kicked off into high gear and never looked back.

The Portsmouth High School boys’ varsity basketball team rolled over Barrington in the Division I quarterfinals, eliminating the Eagles on their home court with a no-doubter of a 79-61 win Tuesday night.

The Patriots, the No. 7 seed, went out strong to build an 11-2 lead in the first couple of minutes and the No. 2-seeded Eagles never caught up. Barrington went 21-2 in the regular season and had lost only one game at home coming into Tuesday’s game.

Portsmouth now advances to the semifinals against No. 3-seeded La Salle Academy. That game will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Murray Center at Rhode Island College. 

In their only meeting against La Salle this year, the Patriots were defeated on the road, 89-52, on Feb. 11.

The Patriots advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Narragansett in a thrilling overtime contest in the PHS field house last Thursday, 64-60.

Portsmouth benefitted from Adam Conheeny’s hot shooting during the preliminary playoff game. He scored four 3-pointers in the final two and a half minutes of regulation — including one that tied the contest with less than a minute left.

Thursday’s game was tied 22-22 at halftime, and the Patriots were behind 55-52 with less than a minute to play in regulation before a 3-pointer by Conheeny forced overtime.