~ Scott City boys basketball team improved to 3-0 with a victory over Advance on Friday night.

ADVANCE -- Scott City's Jay Simmons had a clear vision of the first slam dunk of his high school career when he made a steal at the beginning of the second half Friday.

Simmons dribbled down the court with no defenders in sight and jumped with all his strength.

But he did not get enough air and missed the shot, giving his teammates a good chuckle.

"That's his second, so he gets a lot of [heckling from us]," Rams teammate Alex King said, adding that Simmons also missed a dunk attempt last season.

Sure, Simmons was teased by his friends, but he could take it with a smile. That's because his missed dunk was one of the few mistakes he made all night.

Simmons scored 14 points, including netting 2-of-3 3-pointers, and grabbed four rebounds to help Scott City remain perfect on the season, beating Advance 60-37.

"I may have had some other turnovers, but I think that was the biggest mistake," Simmons said when discussing his dunk attempt.

Simmons played especially strong in the first half, scoring eight points in the first quarter and four in the second to lead his team with 12 points at the break.

His effort helped the Rams head into halftime with an 18-point lead at 36-18.

"He definitely helped us out and got us going," King said. "If it was not for him, we might not have pulled away as fast as we did."

Simmons scored his first 3-pointer during the first minute of the game to give his team a 3-1 advantage. He then drove to the hoop, drew a foul and scored both his attempts from the free-throw line to put his team up 8-3. A few minutes later, he hit another 3-pointer that gave the Rams an 18-9 lead.

"Jay Simmons, he's a great shooter, drives the ball well and he's really athletic," Advance's Jacob Bond said. "He's got a strong build and he keeps his composure really well."

The Rams led 19-9 after the first quarter and increased the lead to 23-9 when Simmons made a nice pass to his wide-open cousin Shae Simmons, who nailed a 3-pointer. Simmons also made another nifty assist to Ryan Modglin down near the basket, whose field goal made it 25-11 Scott City.

The Scott City offense did a nice job all night of moving the ball down the court quickly on offense, which allowed its players to take open shots.

"Off our press we are trying to play a lot faster than we did the year before," Simmons said. "Our point guard Shae just came up, and he's a quick kid. And I try to run down the side of the court, and we try to fill the lanes and he pushes the ball really well."

The Rams continued to keep up a fast pace in the second half, outscoring Advance 18-10.

Most of the backups were inserted by the fourth. King scored eight second-half points to lead the Rams with 15.

"I fed off the whole team," Simmons said. "They passed me the ball well enough to give me the open shots."