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Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Radford's Allen Dickerson (12) flies over the Eastern Montgomery defense for a layup. Dickerson scores 12 points in the victory.

SHAWSVILLE -- Tuesday night's showdown with Radford was supposed to be a coming out party of sorts for the Eastern Montgomery boys basketball team.

With an undefeated record and all but one victory decided by 17 points or more, it looked like the Mustangs were to provide a rare district challenge for the Bobcats.

Throw out that notion.

With a glaring advantage in athleticism and depth, Radford blasted Eastern Montgomery 77-49, leaving no doubt as to which is the top team the Three Rivers District.

The Bobcats (9-3, 1-0) came out relatively slow, scoring just three points in the game's first four minutes.

Entered reserve sophomore Dontae Carter.

Carter, a superb athlete and the Bobcats' spark plug off the bench, nailed two 3-pointers to ignite a 20-7 Radford run to close the quarter.

"He brings so much energy," Radford coach Rick Cormany said. "You watch him on the bench and his legs are bouncing because he can't wait to get into the game."

Carter finished with 16 points, but he wasn't the Bobcats' leading scorer.

Senior forward DeAndre Thompson caught fire in the first quarter and didn't cool off .

Thompson, who scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter, was 7-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.

"I knew my shot was going in," Thompson said. "It was wet during warm-ups, so I knew I was going to make shots during the game."

Radford expanded its lead in the second quarter, outscoring Eastern Montgomery 31-8 with several breakaway layups.

Radford's on-the-ball pressure defense forced the Mustangs (9-1, 0-1) into numerous turnovers, creating easy baskets for Jon Thompson and Allen Dickerson.

Jon Thompson finished with 14 points and Dickerson tallied 12.

Henry Hall had 13 points, including several acrobatic layups in traffic, to lead Eastern Montgomery. Shawn Christian added 11 points for the Mustangs.

While the Mustangs entered the game without a loss, they had yet to face a team with a winning record.

Radford, which has already faced three perennially strong programs in William Fleming, Blacksburg and Pulaski County, came into the game better tested.

Both Cormany and his players believe that those games helped prepare the Bobcats for another run at the district title.

"It's prepared us for a lot of games." DeAnde Thompson said. "EastMont is a good team, but they haven't faced the competition that we have faced. We were way more prepared."

RADFORD (9-3, 1-0)

Smith 1 0-0 3, Hill 1 0-0 3, Hendricks 1 2-2 5, Dickerson 4 4-4 12, Carter 4 6-6 16, D. Thompson 7 3-4 20, Alexander 1 0-0 2, J. Thompson 6 2-2 14. Totals 25 17-18 77.

EASTERN MONTGOMERY (9-1, 0-1)

Christian 5 1-4 11, Raines 2 0-0 4, Wooten 2 0-0 5, Hall 5 1-2 13, Stewart 1 1-2 3, Sisson 1 1-2 4, Khalil 3 3-4 9. Totals 19 7-14 49.

Radford 23 31 13 10--77

Eastern Montgomery 12 8 15 14--49

3-point goals -- Radford (D. Thompson 3, Carter 2, Hendricks, Smith, Hill). Eastern Montgomery (Hall 2, Wooten, Sisson). Team fouls -- Radford 15, Eastern Montgomery 16.