New Year's tourney. They have more than two weeks to think about it and then two opportunities to do something about it. Seattle Pacific University will resume play in men's basketball on the first weekend of the New Year, hosting the eighth annual Oak Harbor Freight Lines Holiday Classic. The Falcons (5-4), coming off three consecutive losses and five games in a row on the road, face UC Santa Cruz (0-9) Friday night (Jan. 3) and Montana's Rocky Mountain College (9-3) the following Saturday night (Jan. 4). Great Northwest Athletic Conference play will be restarted Jan. 11 versus Western Washington.

Streaks, breaks of the game. Rarely does an SPU squad spend the holidays idle and mired in a slump such as this. The 15-day break from action is the longest in 18 seasons and not since 1997-98 have the Falcons suffered three straight losses. Before last week they had won 24 consecutive December games and history supports a resumption of such dominance and soon. Seattle Pacific owns a record of 11-1 in previous Oak Harbor Freight Lines tournaments and has not lost a home game to a Division III or NAIA team such as UC Santa Cruz or Rocky Mountain since November of 1997.

Resolutions? They've got a few. All things considered, Jeff Hironaka's first nine games as head coach have gone all right. His 5-1 start was the best ever by a new SPU coach and his team has battled each game, often against strong opposition. Defensively, Hironaka's club has improved immensely but for Seattle Pacific to get back on track, the players must resolve to shoot the ball better, particularly from the foul line. The Falcons are hitting only 64 percent of their free throws. They converted only 60 percent last week and made just 43 percent of their field goals after making 50 percent in the first six games. The four losses, including the last outing, an 89-80 defeat at Division I Nevada, have been by an average of 6.5 points. In fact, eight of the nine games have been decided by 10 points or less.

And little bit Mo. As non-conference schedules go, last week's rated among the most difficult of the past decade. Missouri Western and Pittsburg State are a combined 15-2 and both teams earned close decisions over SPU at the River City Shootout in San Antonio. But they also found that Maurice Cato (Sr., 6-0, Fairfield, Ca.) can be a handful. Cato was all over the place during the road trip, scoring 43 points, hitting seven (of 15) three-pointers and making eight steals. For the season, Cato leads the Falcons in thefts (1.88) and is No. 2 in scoring (12.6) and assists (2.7). His No. 1 resolution is to bring his free throw percentage-currently 68 percent-back to last year's level of 84 percent.

At ease, Aziz. Yusef Aziz (Sr., 6-4, Seattle, Wa./Foster-Highline CC) once considered playing for Nevada and the Wolf Pack were reminded of his talents firsthand in Reno. Aziz scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists as the upset-minded Falcons confounded their D-I hosts for the first 23 minutes. He scored 12 first-half points and his dunk gave Seattle Pacific a 51-47 lead early in the second half. Nevada then regrouped and launched a 26-5 run to seize control. Aziz, after a tepid start at the foul line, made 10 of 14 free throws last week. He goes into the break as the team leader in scoring (17.6) and assists (3.3) and is No. 2 in field-goal percentage (.500).

A hero every night. For the Falcons to extend their string of six consecutive NCAA Division II tournament appearances, they'll need Aziz and Cato to make big contributions and a bit of a "different hero each night." That formula was evident in the team's five wins and during last week's games a few more individuals showed they are capable of filling that third role. Backup center Chris Cohen (Jr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.) served up two his best career performances thus far in the last two outings, totaling 15 points (7-12 FGs) and eight rebounds in 25 minutes. That included nine points and his first trey at Reno. Starting pivot Jason Chivers (So., 6-8, Palmdale, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) posted his second double-double of the season (10 points, 10 boards) versus Pittsburg State and Adam Harris (Sr., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor) connected on 6 of 8 treys, including 3-3 at Nevada.

Put-backs. SPU was No. 5 in the first NCAA West Region poll last week. Humboldt State, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, was first in the region, followed by Alaska Fairbanks, Cal State Bakersfield, and Hawaii Hilo. The regional poll determines which eight teams make the playoffs in March...The Falcons rate No. 2 in GNAC 3-point accuracy (.432), No. 3 in field goal accuracy (.476) but No. 9 at the foul line...Jeff Knudson (Fr., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) continues to lead the conference in three-point shooting (.571) but played only 16 minutes and was just 2-6 on the trip. Aziz ranks No. 7 in GNAC scoring and assists. Cato is sixth in steals and Chivers is No. 5 in rebounding (6.8)...Nevada out-rebounded SPU 45-30, including 13 offensive boards in the second half.

Tickets, please. Reserved tickets for all SPU home games are priced $7 and $6. General admission is $5 with youth, students and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Groups can qualify for discounts by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaches. The longest-serving assistant in program history, Jeff Hironaka was selected to succeed Ken Bone as head coach Apr. 30, 2002. A former aide at Idaho State and The Master's, Hironaka joined Bone in 1991 and from there the Falcons won 236 of 253 games, claimed five outright or shared conference championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament eight of the last nine years, including a Final Four advancement in 2000. Hironaka is the second Japanese-American head coach of a four-year collegiate program. Keith Cooper, an alumnus of Seattle Pacific, is the staff's top assistant. Cooper previously was an assistant at Central Washington. and Pacific Lutheran, and head coach at Federal Way's Decatur High School. George Parker who first served as an assistant in 1986, returns for his 14th year on the staff. Others who are new to the staff are Rich King, former Nebraska and Seattle SuperSonics center, and Michael Johnson, an all-state selection from nearby Ballard and four-year letterman at Washington.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.