INDIANAPOLIS (Mar. 4) -- Seattle Pacific University's men's basketball team will find itself in familiar surroundings and facing a familiar foe in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament this week.

The No. 22-ranked Falcons (21-5), seeded No. 3 in the West Region, will meet longtime rival Central Washington (17-9) Thursday night (Mar. 8) at 6 p.m. in Bellingham. The winner advances to face No. 2 seed and 8th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino (23-3) Friday (Mar. 9).

In the other half of the regional bracket, Cal State Bakersfield (20-7) and Humboldt State (20-7) play a first round contest. No. 15 Western Washington (24-3), the top seed and host, earned a bye and will await the winner. The regional championship game is Saturday at 7 p.m. in Sam Carver Gymnasium.

"I'm proud of the fact we went from a 2-2 start to earning another NCAA bid and a fairly high seed," said SPU Coach Ken Bone, whose team won the region in 2000, en route to a trip to the Final Four. "I like the fact we're playing in a familiar place, where we've had some success in the past and where our fans can come and support us."

Seattle Pacific swept the two-game series with Central, but both games were closely contested. The Falcons won 84-80 in Ellensburg and turned back the Wildcats 83-82 in overtime Feb. 17 in Seattle.

SPU finished the regular season by winning 13 of its final 15 games. It has played four of the five tournament teams, with Cal State Bakersfield the exception. Cal State San Bernardino opened the season with a 86-82 win at Brougham Pavilion. Western swept its two games while the Falcons were a combined 4-0 vs. Central and Humboldt State.

Bone's teams have made the playoffs seven of the last eight years, and advanced to the regional title game five times since 1995. SPU has played three times at Carver Gym this season: two early-season tournament wins, plus a 99-93 loss to Western in Pacific West Conference play.

Central Washington took advantage of losses by Alaska Anchorage and Cal Poly Poly Pomona this past week to leapfrog two spots in the region and become the sixth and final seed. The Wildcats were runnerup to SPU in last season's regional.

Four of the six regional contestants come from the PacWest. Western Washington was the conference champion. The Vikings, along with Seattle Pacific, Central and Humboldt State, are each from the West Division.

The West champion will advance to face the East Region representative at the NCAA Elite Eight, Mar. 21-24 in Bakersfield, Ca.