Alex Foster's 35 points punctuated his double-double.  Emory athletics file photo

Senior Alex Foster led Emory with 35 points and 10 rebounds in sparking the Eagles to a resounding victory over Virginia Wesleyan in a matchup of two top 10 Division III programs.

No. 7-ranked Emory nailed down its sixth straight victory and upped its record to 10-1 following a 77-64 decision over the No. 8 Marlins, who slipped to 9-2.

Foster was successful on 11 of 21 field goal tries, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, along with all nine of his free throw opportunities en route to posting his fourth straight and ninth contest of the campaign of 20 or more points.   Foster's 10-rebound outing, the seventh time this year he paced the squad in that category, represented his fifth double-double of the season and eighth of his career.  

Junior Will Trawick played a key role in the win, picking up 19 points, 13 coming in the second half, while senior Michael Florin chipped in 12 points while dishing out nine assists. Trawick knocked down seven of 11 from the floor and converted five triples in chalking up his fourth consecutive and eighth double-figure scoring performance of the campaign.  

Emory sank 48.3 percent (28-of-58) of its field goal attempts compared to Virginia Wesleyan's 35.7 percent (25-of-70).  The Eagles made the most of their three-point attempts, draining 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from long range, their second-highest mark of the season, while the Marlins checked in at 27.6 percent (8-of-29).   Emory has recorded seven games of 10 or more treys this year.  Emory finished out the contests with a 40-32 advantage on the glass. 

Behind Foster's 16 points and 51.9 percent shooting, Emory went into halftime with a 33-24 halftime advantage.  VWC held a 13-5 lead with 13:41 left in the stanza, only to see the Eagles knot the score with an 8-0 spurt with the last five points coming from Foster.  Trailing by two points,   Florin accounted for six points during a 10-2 Eagle run that gave them a six-point cushion, 23-17, with 7:39 on the clock.  A three pointer by Khory Moore, who would lead all scorers with 37 points, cut Emory's lead to four points but a bucket by senior Josh Schattie, followed by a trey by Foster, gave the Eagles the nine-point cushion. 

Holding a 38-26 edge during the early stages of the second half, Emory blew the game wide open with a 16-3 blitz, sparked by Foster sinking a pair of three pointers and Trawick adding five points, that pushed its lead to 25 points, 54-29 with 13:09 left in the contest. 

Emory's 10-1 mark ties the 1989-90 squad for the second-best 11-game start in school history.  The 2011-12 team began that season with 12 straight victories. 

The Eagles return to action next Saturday (Jan. 10) when they open University Athletic Association play at the University of Rochester.