Contention in question. The question of whether Seattle Pacific University can contend for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball crown will largely be determined this week as the league’s two frontrunners arrive in Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons (1-1, 5-6) resume conference play Thursday night (Jan. 8) against Western Oregon (2-0, 8-3), then brace for a visit from No. 2-ranked Humboldt State (2-0, 11-2) Saturday (Jan. 10). To start next week, SPU drives across town to Seattle University Jan. 15.

Turnaround time. If Seattle Pacific can manage to sweep its home games this week, it would go a long way toward validating this squad as a contender for the GNAC title. Picked seventh in the preseason poll, the Falcons caused a stir by beating Alaska Anchorage on the road last month. Since then, their story has been of hard luck, losing four of six nonconference contests, although by a total of just 27 points. SPU is below .500 entering January for only the second time in 12 seasons. Coach Jeff Hironaka hopes to reestablish his program’s home-court dominance this week, and the first step was a convincing 94-66 thrashing of Saint Martin’s in the last outing Dec. 30. Over the last four seasons, Seattle Pacific is 49-5 in home conference games.

A toast to health. If Hironaka’s team had been healthy in the first 11 games, it easily could’ve gone 8-3. Center Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) was hobbled by an ankle injury in the first two weeks and absent with a sprain from last week’s 84-82 overtime loss to Alderson-Broaddus. Forward Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) also missed the A-B loss, again with a bad ankle, and guard Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) was plagued by an ankle injury the first week of the campaign. Together, Chivers, Lee and Bremerman account for 52 percent of the team’s points.

Heir Jordan. The most improved player in the league could be Lee, who has increased his scoring by nearly five fold. Despite a slow start, he is the team’s top scorer at 17.1 points per game. He has scored more points in his first 11 games (188) than he did in his first two seasons (161). Lee pumped in 38 points last week to make the all-tournament team at the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Holiday Classic. He is shooting 49 percent outside the three-point arc, 51 percent overall and 88 percent at the foul line.

Jason & the double shots. Those days of Chivers being known for his baseball rather than his basketball skills are all but over. Chivers had now posted six straight double doubles, averaging 18.5 points and 13.3 rebounds over that span. He leads the GNAC in rebounding at 11.0 and is No. 2 in blocked shots (1.80). He returned to the lineup against Saint Martin’s to score 24 points and haul down 14 rebounds in 31 minutes.

‘Jacks’ visits far from ho-hum. Humboldt State games have become a hot ticket following a some classic encounters with SPU the past three seasons. The 2001 game went to over time and in ‘02 a last-second trey gave the Falcons a share of the conference crown. A year ago, the teams played a game for the ages. Actually, it lasted for ages, going four overtimes. Seattle Pacific which trailed by 10 in the second half and seven in the third extra period, beat the then-No. 3 ‘Jacks 113-108. It was the program’s longest game in 29 years and tied for second-longest ever.

No more welcome mat. In making eight trips to the NCAA Division II tournament from 1994-02, Seattle Pacific proved dominant at home, going 123-11. Since then, the Falcons have become a little too hospitable. They are 13-6 in Brougham Pavilion since Hironaka took over, and it was a home loss at the end of last season which knocked them off the playoff bubble. Thursday’s game will be only the fifth home game and the first with students on campus since Nov. 22. To celebrate the reunion of team and fans, 400 squeezable miniballs will be distributed prior to the women’s and men’s doubleheader Thursday. The miniature basketballs feature the Falcons’ logo on one side and the NCAA Basketball trademark on the other.

Put-backs. Like Chivers, Bremerman looked like his old self upon his return vs. Saint Martin’s. Bremerman had 13 points, five assists and four steals in 23 minutes...Ralph Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) got the start vs. Saint Martin’s after scoring a season-high 22 points and sinking five treys in the overtime loss to Alderson-Broaddus. Steele leads the GNAC in foul shooting at 90 percent (27-30)...Chad Williams (So., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison-Whatcom CC) also got a rare start vs. SMC after scoring 10 vs. A-B...Jeff Knudson’s (So., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) shooting slump may have ended at Christmas. Knudson nailed a game-tying three-pointer in overtime vs. A-B and connected on 8-15 treys in the tournament last week (he was 11-31 in the first nine games). His 19 points vs. Saint Martin’s was a career-high and included 5-8 shooting behind the arc...Point guard Tony Binetti (So., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) is second in GNAC assists to turnovers ratio (2.84:1) and fifth in assists (5.0) but is shooting just 34 percent from the field....Chivers has converted 54 (49-90) percent from the field in his last seven games. He also made the Oak Harbor all-tourney team, despite playing only one contest...Seattle Pacific leads the conference in free throw accuracy (.778) and rebounding margin (+4.5) but is ninth in turnover margin...Individually, Lee is No. 2 behind Steele in free throw accuracy, No. 3 in three-point shooting and No. 8 in scoring...SPU is 5-1 when shooting better than 45 percent from the field and also 5-1 when out-rebounding foes. In five of the six losses, opponents have shot 48 percent or higher.

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.