Taking its cue from a coach with a solid athletic background and insistence on dedication and hard work, the Barrington Middle School boys’ basketball team has made this season one to remember.

Under the direction of head coach Bill St. Vincent, the young Eagles have played the type of basketball you’d expect from a championship contender. With a handful of Eastern Conference games remaining, the team has a state title squarely within reach.

Coach St. Vincent, the former Bristol High School three-sport star and 1973 Providence Journal Honor Roll Boy, has instilled a definitive winning attitude up on Middle Highway. In his three years at the helm, the Eagles have always had a winning record, but this season, they’ve been the talk of the town.

“We’re a very deep team this year,” said the coach. “It’s a strong team in a year when the league is down a little. We have a great group of kids. They should challenge for a state title this year.”

Sporting a perfect 10-0 record heading into this week’s action, the Eagles’ offense has been running on all cylinders. They have outscored opponents, 584-326, winning by an average margin of 26 points per game. They’ve only been behind at halftime in two games this season…to Kickemuit, 23-17 (eventually winning, 64-47), and Portsmouth, 22-20 (winning 49-46 on Ben Batting’s three-pointer at the buzzer).

According to Coach St. Vincent, his most consistent players have been Ryan Bonneau, a pass-first point guard; Ben Batting, an exceptional all-around player who loves playing defense; Will Rywolt, a pure shooter who has been improving to the point where he can score in any number of ways; and Jon Adamson, a tough-as-nails performer who’s the team’s best inside player and rebounder. Rywolt is the team leader in scoring with 135 points and a 13.5 points per game average.

“Just about every player has had his highlight game,” said Coach St. Vincent. “Matt Peecher kept us in the Kickemuit game with 15 points until the offense heated up, and Drew Vatter, Brendan Conaty, Andrew Monti and Cole Reed have all had at least one game of scoring double figures.”

The coach continued, “Trent Carney is 6’5” and just now getting serious about basketball. He is working hard in practice and trying to catch up to his rapid physical growth. He gets to play in the paint against Oliver Roberts in practice.”

“We have great team chemistry,” said eighth-grader Trent Carney, during a recent practice session. “We all know each other well. We’ve been together for awhile.”

“I think we can go a long way,” added starter Jonathan Adamson, another eighth-grader. “Narragansett, Cumberland, and Feinstein are other top schools that will be fighting for the championship as well.”

Coach St. Vincent said the rest of the roster is loaded with kids with great attitudes and a strong work ethic.

“The team as a whole is very respectful of coaches, their opponents and each other,” he noted. “This is truly a team. They rival my Mt. Hope girls’ varsity team for being the most fun to coach. They have the talent and disposition to play every role needed to be a winning basketball team.”

Currently, the Barrington team is dominated by eighth graders. Sixth man, Cole Reed, is a seventh-grader as is Jason Anderson, who according to his coach, “has elevated himself into the mix and has as high a basketball IQ as any of his teammates.”

The regular season ends, Feb. 2, followed by the playoffs. The only other undefeated team in the state is Narragansett.

“The team has set a goal of winning the championship,” the coach reaffirmed, “and to that end, is working very hard in practice beating up on each other since the ‘starters’ have rarely played as many as 16 minutes in each of the 32-minute games.”

Coach St. Vincent’s longtime friend and Barrington Middle School girls’ basketball coach, Mike Topazio, put everything in perspective.

“This school has two great basketball teams right now. Both are undefeated and getting ready for the playoffs. I’m pretty sure this is the first time both the Barrington Middle School boys’ and girls’ teams have been undefeated this late in the season. It’s been quite a year.”