It's rally time. Gut-check time has come awfully early this season. Faced with a must-win situation to salvage both its conference and postseason hopes, the Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team will receive no handouts as two of the top three teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings come calling. The Falcons (2-1, 6-6), who have lost five of their last six, host Alaska Anchorage (3-1, 6-7) Thursday night (Jan. 16) and GNAC leader Alaska Fairbanks (4-0, 11-2) to complete the five-game home stand Saturday night (Jan. 18). Next week SPU visits Western Oregon and top-ranked Humboldt State.

The odds of March. Already saddled with six losses, Seattle Pacific cannot afford to lose again at home. The Falcons, 10th in last week's West Region rankings, have qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs eight of the last nine years and even though the playoff bracket has expanded from six to eight teams per region, it's unlikely that teams with less than 17 wins will be considered. To reach that plateau, SPU would need to go 11-4 the rest of the way. Historically, Brougham Pavilion is the best place to stage a turnaround. The team is 40-4 in conference home games the past three seasons and has not lost back-to-back league games in the pavilion since 1988. This is the first time it has lost three home games in 15 years.

It's always something. It's got to be frustrating for first-year Coach Jeff Hironaka. As soon a fix is found for one facet of the Falcons' game , another problem arises. The only similarity that all six losses share is that the team trailed at halftime (it is 6-0 when leading at the break). Four have been by seven or fewer points. Poor shooting, both from the foul line and the field, have plagued SPU in five of its losses. Against Western Washington last week, Seattle Pacific began to snap out of its slump at the foul line, making 11 of 15, but shot just 37 percent from the field in the second half and 44 percent overall. The Vikings, despite committing 24 turnovers and not sinking a single three-pointer, were victorious by attacking the basket. They shot 60 percent and made 18 more free throws.

It only takes a spark. In the words of Smokey the Bear (or was it simply a lyric from a campfire song?), it only takes a spark to get a fire going. Perhaps the Falcons, now in their darkest hour, are just a game away from going on a roll. Some of the better stretch runs by SPU teams have started under similar circumstances and Hironaka, as an assistant, was an eye witness to three such revivals. In 1997-98, the team was just 6-5 before reeling off seven wins in a row and resuscitate its playoff hopes (it advanced to the regional championship game). Three years earlier, in 1994-95, another 6-5 team won six in a row (again coming within one playoff win of the Elite Eight), and in 1992-93 the Falcons won 11 straight after starting 5-5.

A fine line. Just as Hironaka is feeling the pressure, so too is Yusef Aziz (Sr., 6-4, Seattle, Wa./Foster-Highline CC). Defenses are designed to stop him and force the Falcons' supporting cast to step up. Hironaka and Aziz are walking a fine line, trying to get the star forward sufficient scoring opportunities while not becoming predictable. Aziz is the team leader in scoring (16.8) and assists (3.8). The last time an SPU led the squad in both categories was 1987 (Ritchie McKay). While Aziz's statistics are virtually the same, win or lose, his supporting cast has been able to hit the open shot (53 percent overall, 42 percent on treys) in the six victories.

Put-backs. Jesse Keely (Sr., 6-7, Fircrest, Wa./Bellarmine) continued his New Year's surge with 15 points, six rebounds and career-high five assists in a reserve role vs. Western. In his last four games, Keely has averaged 11.8 points and shot 60 percent from the floor...Also on the upswing is Gene Woodard (Sr., 6-4, Edmonds, Wa./O'Dea), who has 26 points and 12 rebounds in his last three outings. Since starting the season in a 2-16 shooting slump, Woodard is 12-21 this month... Struggling since the holidays is Maurice Cato (Sr., 6-0, Fairfield, Ca.). In his first eight games Cato scored in double figures seven times but has only 17 points (7-21 FGs) in games this month...In the six losses, SPU has made only 42 percent of its field goals and 61 percent of its free throws, compared to 49 and 75 percent for the opponents...Jason Chivers (So., 6-8, Palmdale, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) remains the team leader in field-goal percentage (.521) and rebounding (6.3) despite averaging just 18.8 minutes...Back-up center Chris Cohen (Jr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.) is out another 2-4 weeks with a sprained left ankle...SPU is No. 2 in GNAC 3-point accuracy (.407), No. 4 in field goal accuracy (.475) but still No. 10 at the foul line (.635)...Adam Harris (Sr., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor) is No. 3 (.515) and Jeff Knudson (Fr., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) No. 4 (.514) in three-point accuracy (17-32/.531). Aziz ranks No. 8 in GNAC scoring and sixth in assists (3.6). Cato is No. 8 in steals (1.91) and Chivers is ninth in rebounding.

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.