KANNAPOLIS —  Had there been a celebrity panel of judges in attendance, Carson’s Darren Isom threw down one of those jaw-dropping dunks that would’ve gotten a 10.0 on every card.

Brenden Westbrook and Jamarius Hairston also thundered down jams for the Cougars, but while they outdunked A.L. Brown 3-0, they lost on the Bullock Gym scoreboard 53-43 on Wednesday night.

“That big dunk by Isom was a momentum-changer, but I reminded the guys that it’s still just two points,” A.L. Brown coach Shelwyn Klutz said. “Carson has some really impressive athletes and they outdunked us, but we got the win.  I’ll take that.”

When it wasn’t dunking,Carson couldn’t throw it in the ocean. Well, except for Westbrook. He had a breakout game with 15 points, but no one else came close to double figures.

Carson (4-3) had scored 60-plus four times and broke 50 in  its other two outings but  just couldn’t get it going offensively.  The Cougars shot flurries of 3s but only made four — three by Westbrook and one very early by Jacob Raper.

“Westbrook had a positive game, but overall it was just a very poor game for us,” Carson coach Brian Perry said. “We’ve just got to grow up some. We still had a good chance to win with about four minutes to go, but we didn’t show the kind of fight I wanted to see.”

Jaylon Neal (15 points) and Sherrod Sutton (13) sported a new look — shiny white headbands — and  that pair  triggered a solid first quarter that gave the Wonders (3-2) a 17-8 lead.

“If headbands work, I’ve got no objection,” Klutz said with a laugh. “Whatever works.”

When football star Isom delivered his soaring slam, right down the lane, to open the second quarter, that woke up the Cougars. When Westbrook dunked a minute later, Kluttz had to call a timeout to calm his team — and the crowd — down.

“Isom is just flying around and he’s grabbing rebounds and we’re running and we played a pretty good second quarter,” Perry said.

It was 21-21 at halftime. When Ryan Bearden and Marquez McCain scored to start the second half, Carson led by four, but it was all Wonders after that. Klutz credited improved defense and strong rebounding by Dyquan St. Louis and Sutton.

“The first half we were going too fast and were running right into Carson’s traps,” A.L Brown point guard Joekeem Neal said. “But our decisions were better in the second half. We settled down a lot.”

When Hairston jammed on a breakaway and was fouled, Carson was only down 45-39 with four minutes to go, but Joekeem Neal answered with  a drive and Sutton swished two free throws as the Wonders regained control.

A.L. Brown avenged a 62-55 loss to Carson on opening night. The Wonders start MECKA  play against North Meck on Friday, while Carson takes on South Rowan.