On the move. Although it has proven it can compete with anyone, Seattle Pacific University seeks to sustain some success for the first time this season when it goes on the road this week for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball games. The Falcons (2-2, 6-7) make the drive over to First Hill Thursday night (Jan. 15) to face Seattle University (1-2, 6-7). Then they hop a flight to Boise and visit Northwest Nazarene (2-1, 7-4) Saturday (Jan. 17). Next week, SPU returns to campus for Homecoming Week and games with Central Washington and Saint Martin’s.

Let’s roll. Nothing gets the juices flowing like a heart-pounding, huge upset of a national power. Coach Jeff Hironaka hopes the intensity and performance level exhibited in the 99-93 defeat of No. 2-ranked Humboldt State can be maintained for the balance of the season. While it was the biggest win of the season, it serve only to salvage hope of a playoff run. And that run needs to start now. Since the NCAA Division II tournament bracket was expanded to 64 teams in 1995, the Falcons have usually needed at least 19 wins (they made it with 16 in ‘98 and missed with 18 the previous year). A year ago, they just missed with 16 victories. To get 19 wins, SPU needs to win 13 of its last 14.

Fragile health. The Falcons’ fragility was in full view last week. If not for the loss of forward Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) for the final 27 minutes of the Western Oregon contest, Seattle Pacific might have prevailed and, with the Humboldt win, earned a share of first place in the GNAC. If healthy, SPU could be 10-3. Bremerman, the team’s No. 3 scorer, has missed two games, including the HSU game, and 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 missed an overtime loss to Alderson-Broaddus Dec. 29. Both Chivers and Bremerman suffered ankle injuries. Bremerman’s status for this week is uncertain.

A tall order. It’s been awhile since anybody in an SPU uniform averaged a double double for a season–20 years, in fact. And that fella (Dwayne Scholten) went on to become an NBA draft pick. That makes Chivers’ first half of the season quite remarkable. He leads the conference in rebounding (10.6) and, with a big push over the last six weeks, is up to 15.6 points per game. He shared GNAC player of the week after totaling 40 points, 20 rebounds and four blocked shots. Fifteen of his 22 points against Humboldt came in the second half. First-half foul trouble (he played only four minutes) contributed to him missing his eighth straight double double. He’d had 18 points and 14 boards versus WOU. In his last five games, Chivers has averaged 21.4 points and shot 57 percent from the field.

Man of Steele. While Chivers has broad shoulders, SPU needs its supporting cast to step forward and, lately, guard Ralph Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) has done just that. Steele scored 12 of his 19 points in the final four minutes of the Humboldt tilt, and also grabbed a season-best seven rebounds. He had hit a season-high 22 points two games before that. Steele had his best shooting week of the season, going 9-18 from the floor and 12 of his 17 assists have come in the last four games. He is the GNAC leader in foul shooting at 92 percent (36-39).

Thankless, until now. Their names rarely make the lead paragraph of the game stories, but sometimes it’s the role players who are the unsung heroes of the day. Take the Humboldt game, for example. With Bremerman out of the lineup and the Falcons facing the highest-scoring team in the conference, points were in desperate need. The solution: the frontline troika of starting forward Chad Williams (So., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison-Whatcom CC), Jeff Knudson (So., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) and Mike Bushmaker (So., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) accounted for 28 points on 8-14 shooting. And with Chivers saddled with two early personals, center Chris Cohen (Sr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.) played 15 first-half minutes against All-America candidate Fred Hooks. The strong play of Cohen–who’s layup once put his team ahead by 12–enabled SPU to lead 49-46 at the break. He finished with five points and four rebounds.

Put-backs. The victory over Humboldt was Seattle Pacific’s third over a No. 2-ranked team but the first since the 1990-91 season when it defeated Tampa on the road...SPU has yet to win more than two in a row in its last 21 games...Since February of 2002, it has not won more than three straight...The three home losses this season now give the Falcons four in their last seven home dates, dating back to last season. Top season scorer Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) scored 17 vs. Humboldt, hitting 4-7 treys. He is third in GNAC three-point shooting (48 percent), sixth at the foul line (.838) and 10th in scoring (16.6)...Point guard Tony Binetti (So., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) dished a career-high 11 assists in the last game and is fifth in the conference overall (5.3)...Chivers is also No. 2 in the league in blocks (1.80)...Seattle Pacific leads the conference in free throw accuracy (.766) and is No. 3 rebounding margin (+3.1)...SPU is 6-2 when shooting better than 45 percent from the field, 6-3 when scoring at least 78 points and also 6-2 when out-rebounding foes. In six of the seven losses, opponents have shot 48 percent or higher...Humboldt may remain in the nation’s top five despite the loss. Three of the other top five teams lost over the weekend. Alaska Anchorage, winner of seven straight since a Dec. 4 loss to SPU, is poised for a top 25 spot.

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.