Just the elixir. Home cookin’ may be the cure for what ails you, but in the case of Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball, the elixir might be Homecoming. The alumni will converge on the Queen Anne campus this weekend and hopefully see the Falcons (3-3, 7-8) begin a second-half run. They face Central Washington (0-5, 3-12) Thursday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game and then a capacity crowd could be on hand for Saturday afternoon’s homecoming doubleheader, when they meet much-improved Saint Martin’s (3-2, 7-7). Next week SPU visits travel partner Western Washington.

Starved for a streak. The Falcons’ form this season is predictable, given that they lost four starters to graduation and replaced them with, among others, two sophomores and a freshman. SPU has managed two consecutive wins only once during the first half of the season. Fortunately, they rub up against the program’s touchstone this week; Seattle Pacific has prevailed in 13 straight homecoming games. To get into playoff contention, Coach Jeff Hironaka has his hands full. The team will need to go 9-3 just to be on the bubble of NCAA Division II tournament selection.

More of Les. This week’s festivities include the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday at Gwinn Commons. Headlining this second charter class is Les Habegger, who transformed the basketball program into a regional power during his 17-year run from 1957-75. Habegger’s first squad won just six times, but two years later Seattle Pacific made the NAIA playoffs and by 1962 it was in the NCAA tournament. The Falcons went to the postseason five more times and Habegger won a record 267 games. Following his departure as athletic director, he joined the Seattle SuperSonics coaching staff and was the assistant coach when they won the 1979 NBA championship. Later, he served as the Sonics’ general manager and player personnel director. He returned to coaching in Europe, guiding Steiner-Bayreuth to three German titles before retiring. Joining Habegger as inductees are soccer scoring star Ken Covell (1971-74), track sprinter Roy Duncan (1955-58), gymnast Debbie Halle Jackson (1974-77) and tennis ace Bob Thompson (1966-69).

Just a bit more. There are always telltale signs of things to come, and a harbinger which Hironaka can hang on to this winter is his young club’s competitiveness. Seven of the eight losses, for instance, have been by eight or fewer points. SPU has beaten Humboldt State, currently ranked seventh nationally, and an Alaska Anchorage team which owns a pair of Division I victories. Its most lopsided loss was by only 12 points to 10th-ranked Washburn. The next signs of his team’s maturation will be consistency. The Falcons’ last four-game win streak came two years ago.

Awards in the offing. A month from now, Seattle Pacific hopes to merit some postseason consideration. Already, it has three players worthy of some GNAC awards. The Falcons have a legitimate player of the year candidate in center Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech). Only in his third full season of playing organized basketball, Chivers leads the conference in rebounding (11.5) and is also averaging 15.2 points and 1.86 blocked shots. Chivers is coming off his ninth double double in his last 10 games. Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower), who returned from an ankle sprain last week, is a frontrunner for freshman of the year. Bremerman is the team’s No. 3 scorer (12.1) and No. 2 shooter (.509) and rebounder (4.4). Also deserving of votes for all-conference is the league’s most improved player, Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian). After averaging 3.0 points over his first two seasons, he now leads the team in scoring (16.4), shooting (.512) and is No. 2 in GNAC three-point shooting (.481). Lee scored 19 in the 83-68 win at Northwest Nazarene.

Going to the line. For the second time in three seasons the Falcons are among the national leaders in free throw percentage. After setting a new school record of .773 two years ago, this year’s squad is leading the conference and ninth in the NCAA at .774. Individually, guard Ralph Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) is fourth in Div. II, sinking 94 percent (46-49) from the foul line. In the win at NNU, the team shot a season-best 19-20 and Steele was a perfect 8-8 at the stripe. He’s made 26 free throws in a row over the last six games.

Put-backs. Chad Williams (So., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison-Whatcom CC) had gone 10-17 on three-pointers in the last seven games...Mike Bushmaker (So., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) is 10-11 from the field in the last four outings...Tony Binetti (So., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) connected on a pair of treys and converted a steal in to layup during a decisive 20-6 second-half run at Nampa...Chivers scored 25 points, one off his career-high, in the 69-66 loss at Seattle U. The Falcons came from 12 down at halftime to go in front by four at one point. During his run of double doubles, he has averaged 18.6 and 13.1 boards while shooting 53 percent from the field and 76 percent from the line. His 114 defensive rebounds is already eight more than all of last season. ..Chivers is No. 3 in the league in blocks. Lee is No. 4 in free throw accuracy (.842) and Binetti is fifth in assists (5.0)...Seattle Pacific is No. 3 rebounding margin (+2.9)...SPU is 7-2 when shooting better than 45 percent from the field, 7-3 when scoring at least 78 points and also 7-3 when out-rebounding foes.

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.