David S. Spence/The Gazette Jamaal Fermin (pictured), along with teammate Brandon Johnson, is hoping to keep Barrie on top of the PVAC.

Sherwood's 66-49 victory at Magruder High was an asterisk in an evening that featured Barrie guards Jamaal Fermin (freshman) and Brandon Johnson (junior) and Sherwood guard Scott Uyeunten (junior). All three had strong games and should play large roles in their teams' upcoming season this winter.

Fermin and Johnson will have to step in and produce quickly if Barrie (2-8 in the summer league) is to continue its ascent up the county rankings under fourth-year coach Darnell Myers, who has guided the small Silver Spring private school to 17-7 and 29-7 records the past two seasons. The Mustangs won the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference's regular-season and tournament titles a year ago without losing a contest.

Their immediate impact will help offset the loss of All-Gazette second-team athletes Josh Colwell (19 points, 14 rebounds a game), Frank Mason (17 ppg, 9 rpg) and Bobby Sharafeddin (20 ppg). Mason and Sharafeddin graduated last spring, while Colwell will most likely play at another school next season.

"Jamaal just has so much talent and he's quick," said Myers, whose star guard was named the most valuable player at the recently held Boston Celtics camp. "He can shoot the jumper and he can get to the rack. He's a very good player. That's going to be a good addition for [returning starter] D.J. [Brooks]."

Fermin displayed all of those moves during on Monday night, torching the undefeated Warriors (10-0 in summer league play) for a game-high 20 points on mainly fast-break layups or jump shots in offensive sets. He poured in 15 points in the second half alone to keep Barrie close until a late run by Sherwood put the game away.

Johnson, who transferred in from basketball-rich DeMatha, added nine points and numerous steals. He was named the best defensive player at the same Boston camp. Brooks, the team's senior point guard, added 11 points on one-on-one moves to the basket. He is the team's top returning player.

"It's a nice little three-guard backcourt," Brooks said. "Brandon, he's just got to learn the system a little bit more [but] he plays great defense. Jamaal, he's going to be good. We have a whole lot of young players coming up because we lost so much last year. But we're trying to supply as much firepower as possible.

"In the league, if we work hard we'll have a real good chance of doing what we did last year. Maybe not as many points each game, but I think we'll have a real good shot."

Like Fermin and Johnson, Uyeunten's arrival this summer has been a pleasant surprise for second-year Warriors coach Tom Crowell. Unlike the two Barrie guards, he will be just another piece of an already talented team that compiled a 13-10 record a year ago and that has swept through the summer-league season without a blemish.

Uyeunten attended Sherwood as a freshman but didn't play basketball. He then transferred to basketball powerhouse Montrose Christian for his sophomore year "to get my act together" and improve his grades. While there, he played some for the junior-varsity team. With his grades back to respectability, Uyeunten enrolled in the Silver Spring school once again.

A smooth shooting guard who seems to have unlimited range, Uyeunten scored a team-high 19 points on mostly outside jumpers or short pull-ups. He joins a team that also adds Einstein transfer Mujahid Ferguson (11 points) and welcomes back mainstays such as John Keller, P.J. Pleasant-Jones and Chris Ansari.

"We don't have a lot of height, but we have a lot of heart," said longtime Sherwood summer-league coach Eric Foreman. "They complement one another. Crowell should have a good season."

The Warriors showed how proficient they can be as the team turned a tied game at 42-42 into a 17-point victory. Using a full-court press, Sherwood forced numerous turnovers that it turned into easy baskets.