Jaaron Simmons was scanning the Web earlier this week when he happened upon a statement from one of his former middle-school teammates who had Tweeted that Trotwood-Madison was preparing to shut him down. Simmons opted not to reply, instead waiting to let his play answer.

And a resounding response it was.

Simmons poured in 33 points and Alter led from start to finish en route to an impressive 84-68 nonconference victory over Trotwood-Madison Tuesday night.

“I haven’t played with those guys since eighth grade, so there was a little bit of trash talk. It said, ‘Everybody come out and watch us put handcuffs on Jaaron Simmons,’ ” said Simmons, who attended Trotwood-Madison Middle School. “I think the score was my answer.”

Facing a Trotwood team that had lost two games all season by a combined six points, Alter knocked down one 3-pointer after another and built a cushy lead before cruising through the second half. Just as Simmons’ big night was an emphatic answer, it was a pre-playoff statement for Alter (15-3), which overwhelmed a Rams team outscoring its opponents by more than 20 points per game.

The Knights’ season-high scoring output was a shock to Alter coach Joe Petrocelli.

“We expected them to put up 84, because that’s what they’re averaging,” Petrocelli said. “Everything was going in.”

Trotwood-Madison (15-3), one of two undefeated teams in the Greater Western Ohio Conference, employed its frenzied pressing defense but was undone by the combination of Alter’s hot shooting and Simmons’ blazing speed. He scored in virtually every way — on floaters, deep 3s, breakaway layups and one emphatic dunk.

Simmons stole the ball, burst into the open court and spiked it while being fouled. Despite his athleticism and 23.3 scoring average, it was just the third in-game dunk in the 6-2 guard’s career.

“As soon as I got it, I knew I was going to dunk it,” he said.

Senior guard Michael Spencer and sophomore forward Michael Schwieterman added 13 points apiece for Alter, while junior guard Dezhontae Bennett led Trotwood with 20. It was a quick reversal for both teams; in its previous game, Alter scored a season-low 45 points in loss to St. Xavier, while Trotwood had just knocked off Dunbar.

Alter entered ranked No. 8 in the state among Division II teams, while Trotwood was No. 4 in the polls.

“Believe me, man, we’re not the first team to walk out of here with our head between our legs,” Trotwood coach Rocky Rockholt said. “They got good looks and they knocked them down.”