North to Western. Claiming a share of first place going into the second half of the conference campaign, Seattle Pacific University sets out on a rough stretch of road the next couple weeks. The Falcons (7-2, 11-7), winners in five of their last six, venture north to face Western Washington (5-4, 11-7) Saturday night (Feb. 8). Next week they leave the lower 48 for a couple Great Northwest Athletic Conference bouts in Alaska.

Last time, a turning point. Seattle Pacific will likely need to win two of its next three in order to stay near or atop the cramped GNAC standings, but Bellingham is a tough place to play. Western Washington has beaten SPU in its last two visits and it also dealt the Falcons their only home league defeat Jan. 11, 83-76. Since that time, the two clubs have gone in different directions. First-year Coach Jeff Hironaka has righted his ship, thanks to some sharp shooting. Seattle Pacific is likely to leapfrog Western in the regional rankings later this week, moving into the top eight. The Vikings, meanwhile, have slumped, losing three of their last five games. Eight teams from the West Region will qualify for the NCAA Division II tournament next month.

Shoot for first. The Falcons were mired in a shooting (and losing) slump when they last met Western. Since then, Hironaka has tweaked the offense, resulting in better ball movement and sizzling shooting. Seattle Pacific has hit 56 percent from the field in the past six games (all at 50 percent or higher), including 48 percent from three-point range. In the five victories, they have averaged 88.8 points. The sole setback was a road loss to nationally-ranked Humboldt State, yet last week SPU bounced back with home wins over Seattle University (80-66) and Northwest Nazarene (95-58) to tie Humboldt and Alaska Fairbanks for first in the GNAC.

Mo, as in momentum. If the Falcons' recent progress was plotted on a graph it would bear a strong resemblance to the personal chart of point guard Maurice Cato (Sr., 6-0, Fairfield, Ca.). Cato's season hit bottom during the first meeting with Western, his third straight game under 10 points. Since that time, his hair-trigger has fired mostly bulls-eyes. In the last six games, Cato has connected on 60 percent of his shots, including 10-19 treys. His best game of the season was saved for Seattle U. He got things rolling early, making four of his first five shots and scoring 13 points in the first 14 minutes. In the second half, he dished five of his season-high seven assists and finished with a season-high 20 points. Cato is the team's leader in three-pointers (27), steals (1.88) and is No. 2 in scoring (11.4) and assists (2.6).

Beyond the numbers. It remains to be seen whether he will earn the league's player of the year award, but certainly no individual has made a better case for MVP than Yusef Aziz (Sr., 6-4, Seattle, Wa./Foster). Game in, game out, Aziz has supplied not only the points but many of the intangibles needed for the Falcons to win ballgames. He has finished as the scoring leader in 13, the assist leader in nine and rebounds eight, and is the only GNAC player to rank among the top 11 of all three categories. In the last six games, Aziz has averaged 19.5 points while shooting 58 percent. He totaled 20 points, seven boards and four steals vs. the Redhawks before getting a virtual breather (23 minutes, 12 points) against NNU.

Mixin' it up. Western is the top rebounding team in the conference but in the first meeting SPU actually owned an edge on the boards. Last week, SPU was a plus-10 in rebounding, thanks in large part to the unsung efforts of interior players like center Jason Chivers (So., 6-8, Palmdale, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech), his backup, Chris Cohen (Jr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.), and utilityman forward Gene Woodard (Sr., 6-4, Edmonds, Wa./O'Dea). Chivers used his long arms and soft hands to snatch 16 rebounds-seven off the offensive glass-and score 21 points. He also passed for six assists vs. SU. Minute-for-minute, Cohen was just as effective, with 16 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. That included a career-high 12 points vs. NNU. Woodard, always scrappy underneath, totaled 15 points and eight caroms in 31 minutes off the bench.

Put-backs. Daniel Sandrin (Sr., 6-7, Bothell, Wa./Bothell) has quietly raised his performance level in the past three weeks, averaging 10.3 points in the last six outings...Tony Binetti (Fr., 6-2, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) saw 29 minutes of action vs. NNU and responded with a season-high eight assists (no turnovers) and nine points (3-4 3-pointers)...Jordan Lee (So., 6-0, University Place, Wa./Life Christian) scored 10 points and had three assists vs. the Crusaders, his best totals since opening night...SPU is 11-0 when leading at halftime and 11-1 when shooting at least 49 percent from the field...SPU is No. 1 in both GNAC 3-point (.426) and overall (.505) field goal accuracy. Oddly, it is still No. 10 at the foul line (.657)...Adam Harris (Sr., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor) leads the conference in trey accuracy (.520/26-50) while Jeff Knudson (Fr., 6-7, Mukilteo, wa./Kamiak) is third (.488/21-43). Aziz ranks No. 6 in GNAC scoring (17.7) and assists (3.7), 10th in steals (1.56) and11th in rebounding (6.1). Cato is No. 5 in steals and 10th in three-point shooting (.409). Chivers is No. 6 in rebounding (6.6) and eighth in shooting (.544).

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.