Hello & good-bye. With the first conference counters looming on the road next week, 16th-ranked Seattle Pacific University (2-1) has a couple chances to polish it's game at home by hosting Northwest College (3-3) Tuesday (Nov. 27) and Hawaii Pacific (2-2) Saturday (Dec. 1) in the final two contests at Brougham Pavilion prior to Christmas. The following four games will be on the road, beginning with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener Dec. 6 at Central Washington.

Escape from November. The Falcons will not only be going after their third win in a row against Northwest College but they will be attempting to escape from November with just one loss. That would qualify as their best start in three years. Although Seattle Pacific has won 48 games the past two seasons it started 2-2 each year. The sole loss this season was to Indianapolis in the opener, 68-67. December, on the other hand, is when Coach Ken Bone's squads seem to hit their stride. SPU has won its last 15 December games, dating back to 1998.

Defense is priority. Bone plans to reemphasize defense this season and his team is coming off a dominating performance last week at Seattle University. In the only game played over the Thanksgiving break the Falcons allowed the lowest opponent score in 68 games, winning 64-49. The Redhawks were held to 33 percent shooting and only three attempted field goals inside of 10 feet. Their only layup came with less than three minutes remaining. In the first three games, foes have hit only 41 percent from the field, committed 15 more turnovers and averaged 58.7 points.

No fountain of points. One of the primary reasons that Bone has his players concentrating more on the defensive phase of the game is the lack of a prolific scorer in his offensive game plan. In each of the past four seasons the Falcons possessed a player who averaged at least 17 points per outing. In the first three games there have been three different top scorers and at Seattle U. the high man, center Eric Sandrin (Sr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest-Portland), had just 12 points, albeit in 19 minutes. Nine players scored four or more points. For the year to date, forward Yusef Aziz (Jr., 6-4, Seattle, Wa./Foster-Highline CC) is averaging 14.0 points in 24.0 minutes while Sandrin is next at 12.7 in 21.7 minutes.

Stone's throws. So far, preseason All-America and do-everything forward Brannon Stone (Sr., 6-9, Oak Harbor, Wa.) has focused more on passing than shooting. Stone, who averaged 15.6 as a junior, is just 58 points away from breaking into the school's top 10 in career points yet he has more assists (16) than field-goal attempts (15) in the first three games. He is shooting 53 percent but has concentrated on setting-up others out of his playmaker role at the high post. Stone also leads the Falcons in steals (9) and last week moved past Ritchie McKay (1985-87) into No. 2 on the career list at 157. He is No. 6 in rebounds (668). Stone already owns all the school records for blocked shots.

Bremerman signs on line. Bone inked his second recruit of the fall last week when forward Dustin Bremerman of Yakima's Eisenhower High School signed a national letter of intent. The 6-foot-4 Bremerman led the Cadets to the state 4A tournament quarterfinal round by averaging 21.2 points while also leading the team in 3-pointers and rebounds (6.5). Currently he is attending classes at Yakima Valley Community College. Bremerman, a prep teammate of SPU redshirt freshman forward Mike Bushmaker (Fr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower), joins Enumclaw senior point guard Tony Binetti as the first recruits for next season.

Put-backs. Point guards Maurice Cato (Jr., 6-0, Fairfield, Ca./Fairfield-Skyline JC) and Aaron Bellessa (Jr., 6-2, Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) have only one turnover in their last 60 minutes. Bellessa, last year's starter and now coming off the bench but virtually splitting time with Cato, has not committed a turnover in 57 minutes this season...Each of the team's top three scorers­Aziz, Sandrin and Nick Johnson (Sr., 6-3, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison)­are shooting over 48 percent. Johnson was the only other player in double figures at SU, finishing with 10...The win over Seattle U. was the Falcons' 10th straight since 1994-95...After recovering from a thumb injury, backup guard Adam Harris (Jr., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor) is now sidelined by a fracture of the left ankle. He hopes to return by mid-December.

Opponent & series notes. Northwest College is winless in nine previous games against SPU, the most recent in 1995-96. The Eagles, coming off two wins, are coached by former Falcon John Van Dyke (1986-88)...Hawaii Pacific, a Pacific West Conference foe of SPU the past three seasons, plays at Saint Martin's Thursday. The Sea Warriors defeated Division I Liberty (Va.) in Honolulu last week. They are 2-3 versus Seattle Pacific but have lost the last three meetings.

Tickets, please. Reserved ticket prices for all SPU home games are priced at $7 and $6. General admission prices are $5 with students, youth and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Teams or groups can qualify for discount rates by call (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaches. In his 11 years as coach of his alma mater, Ken Bone has directed the Falcons to seven NCAA tournament berths, five conference titles and 11 consecutive winning records. His winning percentage of .712 is the best in school history, surpassing even the legendary Les Habegger. From 1995-2000 Bone's teams advanced to the regional championship game five times, including a record 27 wins and Final Four appearance in 2000. Jeff Hironaka is in his 11th year as associate head coach. Jarrett Mentink returns to the staff after a four-year absence this season. George Parker who first served as an assistant in 1986, returns for his 13th year on the staff. Former all-conference forward Reggie Paul joins the staff after five seasons of playing professionally in Europe and Asia.