North, toward darkness. A bleak, frigid reception awaits the Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team later this week when it arrives in Alaska for the start of great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Falcons (2-2) will step into a frozen winterland where, with the solstice approaching, the sun rises for less than five hours. Even less inviting is the opposition. Thursday night (Dec. 4), SPU visits Alaska Anchorage (5-1), which is coming off a solid performance at the Great Alaska Shootout. Saturday (Dec. 6) it meets Alaska Fairbanks (3-2), the team picked to finish second in the GNAC. Following a week off for final exams, play resumes Dec. 16 at UC San Diego.

They’ve got grit. If this first couple weeks of the season has illustrated anything about this SPU squad, it’s that they’ve got some grit. The Falcons have mounted comebacks in each of their last three games, highlighted by their rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat Colorado School of Mines 81-76 at Chico, Ca., in their most recent outing. Against Chico State the previous night, they sliced a 10-point gap to one in five minutes. Seattle Pacific will need to sustain such resolve since the next five games are all on the road. It returns home Dec. 29 to open a four-game homestand.

Lighting Jordan. The Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) who was en fuego in Australia two months ago, caught fire in Chico. After being hobbled by an ankle sprain in the first couple games, Lee went close to full-throttle at the Mac Martin Classic, totaling 42 points in two games, including a career-high 23 versus Chico State in the 93-91 loss. He fueled the comeback win the next night, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second half. Nine points were scored in the final four-plus minutes as the Falcons finished with a 14-6 run. For the trip, Lee shot 13-21 from the field (4-10 3-pointers) and hit all 12 of his free throws to make the all-tournament team.

He’s gotta point. Coach Jeff Hironaka gave his guards much more to chew on than turkey this month, installing a new offense while young players adapted to new roles and several new teammates. Perhaps the key individual in all this activity is point guard Tony Binetti (So., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.), and he seems eager to meet the challenge. Binetti was once again impressive in running the show in California. He passed for a career-high nine assists vs. Chico State and his 13-point, six-rebound, one turnover line in the second game cinched his spot on the all-tournament team. Binetti leads the GNAC in assists to turnovers ratio (6:1) and is fourth in assists (6.0).

On the mend. The cornerstone of this year’s team, center Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech), has not approached his preseason numbers (22.4 points, 13.7 rebounds) because of an ankle injury suffered in the first game. But he’s getting stronger, as evidenced by his 15 points versus CSM. On the bum wheel, Chivers has made just 13-39 field goals after leading the GNAC at 59 percent last season. While he’s averaging 7.5 rebounds, Hironaka has asked for a double-figure number, if SPU is to be a conference contender. SPU is ninth in GNAC rebounding (-0.3 margin).

Heating up. There are several signs that the Falcons’ fortunes are on an upswing. Besides the win and the improved health of Lee and Chivers, outside shooters are beginning to find their stroke. Seattle Pacific connected on 65 percent of its second-half shots vs. CSM. Binetti was 5-9 for the game and redshirt freshman forward Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) solidified his place in the starting lineup with seven points in the second-period rally. Jeff Knudson (So., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak), the top three-point marksman in the GNAC as a frosh, came off the bench for 13 points in 18 minutes vs. Chico and guard Ralph Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) was 7-16 from the field on the trip.

Put-backs. SPU had its chances against Chico State, which had lost two starters to injuries. It led the Wildcats 44-36 in the first half after going on a 27-12 run to dig out of a 10-point hole. A 10-point Chico lead late in the second half was cut to lone point on a three-pointer by Chad Williams (So., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington Edison-Whatcom CC) with 7 seconds to go but the Falcons never had a shot at tying or going ahead thereafter...Hironaka elected to shuffle his starting lineup, inserting Bremerman and Lee for Knudson and Steele...Lee leads the GNAC in free throw shooting (12-12) and SPU is the team leader at 78.6 percent (55-70). Reserve center Chris Cohen (Sr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.) is 8-9 at the line and vs. Chico he snared seven rebounds–all off the offensive glass...Drew Matzen (Fr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) aided in the CSM comeback with five points in six minutes of second-half duty...Chivers was plagued by foul trouble in Chico, fouling out in 22 minutes against the Wildcats and drawing four personals vs. CSM.

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 Coaching Staff. In his first season Jeff Hironaka won more games (16) than all but one other first-year SPU coach. A former aide at Idaho State and The Master’s, Hironaka became Ken Bone’s top assistant 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 times, including a Final Four advancement in 2000. Hironaka is the second Japanese-American head coach of a four-year collegiate program...As both coach and player, Ben Scheffler has been associated with seven NCAA tournament teams. The staff’s top assistant, Scheffler started three seasons at guard and later served on Bone’s staff from 1998-01. He was a volunteer assistant at Washington in 2001-02. Scott Reid joins the staff following two years as KingCo coach of the year at Bellevue’s Newport High School. George Parker who first served as a volunteer assistant in 1986, returns for his 15th year. Dan Barfoot serves as graduate assistant and Maurice Cato, starting point guard the past two years, is student assistant.

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.