Hot meets cold. Red-hot and on a roll, Seattle Pacific University leaves the lower 48 this week to road test two of the other top four teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Falcons (8-2, 12-7), winners in six of their last seven and likely to be among the top four in this week's regional rankings, face fellow postseason contender Alaska Fairbanks (8-3, 15-5) Thursday night (Feb. 13), followed by a visit to resurgent Alaska Anchorage (7-4, 10-10) Saturday night (Feb. 15). SPU returns home next week, facing No. 4-ranked Humboldt State Feb. 20.

A tough place to play. There are precious few friendly places to play on the road in the GNAC, and that goes double for Alaska. The Nanooks and Seawolves have combined to knock off four Division I teams at home this season, and Alaska Fairbanks is unbeaten (10-0) on its home court, including a victory over nationally-ranked Humboldt State Feb. 1. Seattle Pacific earned its first two-game Alaska sweep in 18 years last season but Coach Jeff Hironaka would probably feel fortunate to arrive home with a split. Fairbanks is on the verge of its best season since 1989 and Anchorage enters the week on a season-best three-game win streak.

Mercury rising. Forecasts call for snow showers and temperatures no higher than 22 degrees when the Falcons land in Fairbanks. But that's outside. Inside gyms throughout the GNAC, SPU is generating considerable heat. In conference play, Seattle Pacific leads its peers in virtually every statistical category, leaving little wonder as to why it enters the final four weeks of the regular season in a virtual first-place tie with Humboldt. In a turnaround which began Jan. 16 against Anchorage, they have played solid team basketball on both ends of the court. In the last seven games SPU has shot 56 percent from the floor, 75 percent at the foul line and 45 percent beyond the arc while holding opponents to 70.3 points and 43 percent shooting. Last weekend's road win (80-72) at Western Washington marked the first time the team shot below 50 percent (.488) in seven games. Seattle Pacific is 12-1 when hitting 49 percent or higher.

A look toward March. Four weeks ago, the Falcons found themselves at 6-6 and missing from the all-important NCAA Division II West Region poll. Now they are likely to break into the top four by Wednesday's new ranking. SPU was fifth behind Cal State San Bernardino, Humboldt State, BYU Hawaii and Cal Poly Pomona, and the latter lost last weekend. The top eight teams in the region will earn postseason berths. Fairbanks was sixth last week.

Man of the moment. The victory at Western Washington was vital to Seattle Pacific's postseason hopes and Hironaka's stated need to win two of three before returning home. Yet early in the second half at Bellingham the situation seemed dire as the Falcons trailed by nine. Cue Yusef Aziz (Sr., 6-4, Seattle, Wa./Foster). A league MVP and All-America candidate, Aziz pummeled the Vikings inside, scoring 13 of his 28 points in the final 13 minutes, including 11 during a decisive 20-6 run which put his team ahead to stay. Aziz tied a school record by hitting all 12 of his free throws, finished 8-12 from the floor and added seven rebounds and three steals to earn co-player of the week in the GNAC. In the last seven games he has averaged 20.7 points and shot 60 percent.

When games count. Aziz and several other key players have lifted the level of their game when it counts most, in conference. In GNAC games, Aziz averages 18.7 points (compared to 18.2 overall). The secondary offensive threat, point guard Maurice Cato (Sr., 6-0, Fairfield, Ca.) is hitting 54 percent of his field goals compared to 42 in non-league games. And so it goes. Across the board Seattle Pacific's numbers are stronger in conference contests, from scoring (83.0) and shooting (54 percent) to defense (allowing 70.2, 43 percent shooting). The most remarkable difference is free throw accuracy; SPU is eighth at .681 for all games and leads the GNAC (.731) in conference.

A frontline force. Next season the Falcons will have a new go-to guy, and based on glimpses so far, center Jason Chivers (So., 6-8, Palmdale, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) could be a candidate. Chivers, with only a year and a half of organized play behind him, has earned his keep in the starting lineup largely as a result of his rebounding. But once more last week, he proved he could contribute offensively, scoring 19 points and hitting 6-8 shots. In fact, Chivers apparently thrives on the road in the GNAC; in five road conference games he's averaging 14.4 points, 6.6 boards and shooting 71 percent from the field and 78 percent from the line.

Put-backs. The nine-point deficit at Western Washington was the largest in a Falcon win this season...SPU is 12-0 when leading or tied at halftime...Seattle Pacific is No. 1 in both GNAC 3-point (.420) and overall (.504) field goal accuracy. It moved up from 10th to eighth at the foul line (.681) by making 35 of 40 (.875) at Western...Adam Harris (Sr., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor) continues to lead the conference in trey accuracy (.500/26-52) while Jeff Knudson (Fr., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) is fourth (.488/21-43). Aziz ranks No. 6 in GNAC scoring (18.2) and steals (1.63), No. 8 in assists (3.6) and ninth in rebounding (6.2). Cato is No. 5 in steals (1.78). Chivers is No. 5 in shooting (.557) and No. 6 in rebounding (6.4).

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.