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Garner’s 27 points were an obvious reason the Blue Devils (2-0) were able to hold off a promising Paint Branch squad (1-1), 69-64, last Friday night in Silver Spring. But even more evident was the camaraderie with new teammates that aren’t so new.

‘‘I really believe I need to be more vocal this year — we had the seniors last year, now it’s a different team,” said Garner. ‘‘But there’s really not that much of a difference. Actually, we already knew how to play together before the season started.”

The new faces in the starting lineup were not-so unknown to Garner. He played with the Williams brothers, senior point guard Mounda and junior small forward Jeremy, in middle school. And junior power forward Jamal Olasewere was on the team a year ago. Only the team’s other pivot, senior Ebou Touray, is new. And there was nothing disingenuous about the chest bumps, high-fives and yelps of encouragement Garner could be seen giving them all night.

After all, they were producing. The elder Williams poured in 14 points, knocking down two early 3-pointers — the one thing that was lacking on the Blue Devils a year ago was outside shooting — and burying all eight of his free throws, several late in the game to close the deal. And Olasewere was the key in rallying Springbrook from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter, grabbing countless offensive rebounds and putting them back in. He finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds on the night.

‘‘That was a good win,” said Blue Devils head coach Tom Crowell, ‘‘even though at times we looked like a very young team. It all starts with the rebounding and then it also all starts with C.J — what people don’t understand is that he’s the only returning senior. But I’ll tell you what, at times, we looked just as good as last year.”

The Panthers aren’t so much of a young team, and in reality, seemed in control for much of the game. They could, in fact, be the best team in Montgomery County 3A, with a solid mix of veterans and newcomers. Senior shooting guard Shane Yambor looked like an elite perimeter marksman against the Blue Devils, knocking down four triples and scoring 17 of his 19 points in the first half alone. Swingman Travis Hart knocked down four threes himself, while junior point guard Stephen Griffin showed loads of potential in just his second start, scoring 15 points and actually carrying Paint Branch early in the fourth quarter.

It just wasn’t enough on Friday.

‘‘We’ve got to clean up on the boards better,” said Panthers head coach Walter Hardy, ‘‘because I thought we just quit rebounding after the third quarter. But we’re going to get a lot better as the season goes on.”

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Blue Devils were just a little bit better, including players that may not have been expected to be.

‘‘Everybody’s played enough basketball throughout their life to know what to do here,” said Garner. ‘‘Our big men — Jamal, Ebou, Brandon [Davis], Kwambia [Coker], big Nick [Teneyck] — they really rebound the ball strong and get the ball out for us. I have a lot of confidence in everyone.”