KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown guard Brandon Thomas put together one of the strangest mathematical nights in hoops history, but the numbers still added up to an easy 89-58 for the Wonder boys over visiting Piedmont.

Thomas put up a career-high 24 points without the benefit of a 2-point goal. The junior poured in six 3-pointers and six free throws to pace his team to a bounce-back win. He made three consecutive 3s late in the first quarter — each one further than the last — to personally push a 16-9 Wonder lead out to 25-12.

“North Rowan beat us bad (81-55) in our last game,” said Thomas. “We came out her tonight as a team, worked hard and took it out on Piedmont. For me personally, it was a great opportunity to step up and show what I can do.”

The win was an important one for the Wonders, who are 3-2 overall, but 2-0 in the 3A South Piedmont Conference, where it really counts. Piedmont (1-5, 0-4) is a team they’re supposed to beat — they are much more talented — but it was still a relief for Wonder coach Shelwyn Klutz when his troops came out and took care of business from the jump.

It was 14-2 before the Panthers could blink.

“You’re never sure,” said Wonder coach Shelwyn Klutz. “I didn’t know how our kids would react. North was a bully and they beat us down. But we responded. We got back up and came out and played with some intensity, especially on the defensive end.”

The Wonder defense was pretty good, but the most obvious thing the home team was doing right was shooting the lights out.

Aundrae Allison continued to be a micro-wave, heating up to produce 21 easy points, sometimes nailing fadeaways, sometimes dribbling through all five Panthers to scoop in something from an odd angle.

Shannon Blackmon pitched in with 11 points, all in the first half, and sank another pair of 3s as the Wonders rushed off to a 46-29 halftime lead.

“We can shoot the ball this year, and that’s been a real weakness in the past,” said Klutz. “Thomas is a good spot-up shooter. Allison can score. Blackmon made some shots, too. We’ve got some guys who you can’t leave open.”

The Wonders weren’t challenged in the second half, trading baskets in the third quarter and then pushing the final margin over 30 with a late spree by little Timmy Allison.

“All wins are good wins,” said Klutz. “There haven’t been any automatics for us lately.”

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NOTES:The Wonders are still playing without the two seniors, who figured to be the team’s leaders. Big man Gerrell McCrae may be done for the season and shooting star Jason Brown is still out with a strained knee ligament, which has caused some fluid buildup. Brown could be back in a week to 10 days, but likely will miss next Tuesday’s big game against West Rowan. “We need Jason badly,” admitted Klutz. ... Josh Barrier, a junior who is now the perimeter-oriented Wonders’ inside presence, had a good night on the boards. ... Piedmont got 20 points out of big man Tony Baker, but no other Panther reached double figures.

Boys

PIEDMONT (58) — Baker 20, Byers 9, Christian 7, Cuff 7, Hunter 7, Baucom 3, Stauffer 2, Allen 2, Gilbert 1.

A.L. BROWN (89) — Thomas 24, A.Allison 21, Blackmon 11, T.Allison 9, Barrier 8, Caldwell 4, Blakeney 4, Robinson 3, Burch 2, Furr 2, Crawford 1.

Piedmont 12 17 14 15 — 58

A.L. Brown 25 21 19 24 — 89