Senior Alex Foster led five double-figure scorers with a game-high 25 points and the No. 7-ranked Emory men's basketball team used another strong second-half showing in notching a victory over Union College Tuesday evening in the title game of the Emory Holiday Tournament.  The Eagles won their fifth straight and raised their overall record to 9-1 following an 83-67 decision over the Dutchmen who slipped to 6-3.

Foster totaled 14 of his 25 points over the final 20 minutes of play as the Eagles posted a 49-35 scoring advantage.   Foster finished out the contest, sinking 10-of-23 from the floor, including a pair of triples, and all three of his free throw opportunities. Foster has scored in double figures in all 10 Eagle games and has produced eight performances of 20 or more points.   Junior Will Trawick was next up on the team's scoresheet with 11 points while seniors Josh Schattie and Michael Florin and junior Davis Rao all contributed 10 points.  Schattie tied Foster and sophomore Jonathan Terry for team honors with eight rebounds with five of Schattie's boards coming on the offensive end of the floor.

With Foster scoring four points. Emory opened the second half on a 13-2 run that gave it a 47-34 lead with 15:30 left in the contest.  The Dutchmen, coached by former Emory assistant Chris Murphy, battled back to within seven points with 12:34 remaining following a three-point play by Deshon Burgess, however the Eagles doubled their lead  to 59-45 with 10:13 left as a result of a 10-3 spurt that saw Foster score five points and junior Davis Rao knocking down a three pointer.  From that point the closest Union would get would be 11 points.  Terry accounted for five points during a later 7-1 Emory charge that pushed its advantage to 18 points, 71-53, with 6:21 left on the clock. 

Emory ended the contest shooting 44.2 percent from the field (34-of-77) compared to Union's effort of 37.3 percent (22-of-59), the seventh time this season it had enjoyed an edge in that category.  The Dutchmen outshot the Eagles from beyond the arc, 45 percent (9-of-20) to 30 percent (6-of-20), but turned the ball over on 17 occasions to Emory's 11 miscues with the Eagles registering a 22-12 bulge in the points-off-turnovers department.

With Foster scoring 11 and Schattie eight points, Emory took a 34-32 lead into halftime. A triple by Foster propelled the Eagles to a 15-5 advantage, but with Union sophomore Wade McNamara scoring eight points, the Dutchmen responded with a 14-2 barrage that put them ahead by a 19-17 count with 9:25 left in the stanza.  McNamara would eventually pace Union with 15 points on the night.   A layup by Terell Winney gave Union a 32-30 edge but a bucket by Foster followed by a tip-in by Schattie at the buzzer gave the Eagles the two-point edge.

Emory returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 3) when it plays host to No. 8-ranked Virginia Wesleyan in a 2:00 pm tip.