The bus stops here. Still clinging to life with regard to the postseason, the Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team plays its final two road games this week, again under must-win conditions. The Falcons (7-6, 11-11) visit Saint Martin’s (4-7, 8-12) in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Thursday night (Feb. 19). Then comes a trip over the mountain pass to resurgent Central Washington (5-7, 8-13) Saturday night (Feb. 21). The final three games are at home, beginning with Western Washington Feb. 28.

Two down, 5 to go. Its back to the wall, SPU won a couple home games last week to keep its postseason hopes alive. It probably needs to run the table and finish 16-11 for a chance to make the NCAA Division II tournament. The Falcons have yet to be ranked among the top 10 in the West Region (the top eight generally qualify for the playoffs), yet they have proven competitive when facing other contenders, with a 2-2 record against teams in the top eight. Each of the final three games is against regionally-ranked clubs. Seattle Pacificseeks to reverse a trend of late, having lost five of its last six GNAC road games.

Offensive behavior. Following some uneven performances during a three-game losing skid, the offense was running on all cylinders back at Brougham Pavilion last week, scoring 197 points in the two games. The Falcons shot 56 percent from the floor, 49 percent from three-point territory. They connected on a season-best 59 percent of their field goals in a 103-67 rout of Seattle University for their fifth straight home victory. Surprisingly, the only area where SPU proved subpar was at the foul line. Having entered the week as the NCAA leader in free throw accuracy, it made 73 percent–five points under its average. Ralph Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) provided a spark off the bench, with 18 points in the Seattle U. contest. Steele maintained his lead in NCAA foul shooting (.910) despite two misses in the 94-85 win over Northwest Nazarene. He was 5-7 for the week. The team slipped to No. 2 nationally, just behind Mars Hill (NC). Both are listed at 78.4 percent.

Head of the class. What was lacking before, was found aplenty last week. Coach Jeff Hironaka was in desperate need of added firepower and he got it from redshirt freshman forward Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower). A prime candidate for GNAC freshman of the year, Bremerman broke out of a three-game shooting slump to earn conference co-player of the week. He scored a season-high 29 points (21 in the first half) against NNU and followed with 13, a season-best eight rebounds and three steals versus the Redhawks. After going is 5-21 from the field (0-8 treys) in the previous three games, Bremerman hit 15-27 from the floor, including 4-7 three-pointers. He remains the team’s No. 3 scorer at 11.6 points per game.

The appropriate label. In his career to date, he’s become synonymous with long-distance shots so it’s only right that Jeff Knudson (So., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) wear the number 3 on his jersey. Knudson led the conference in three-point accuracy as a freshman but he struggled comparatively early on. Lately, however, his stroke is back and perhaps better than ever. Since Dec. 30, Knudson has hit 56 percent of his threes (28-50) and averaged 9.2 points off the bench. Last week he made 5-7, including back-to-back 22-footers to help break open the Seattle U. game. Knudson ranks fifth in conference three-point accuracy for the season (.477), including 55 percent in GNAC play. Of his 101 career field goals, 79 have arrived from outside the arc.

The 1-2 punch. An oddity in the offensive uprising was that the 1-2 scoring punch of guard Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) and center Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) actually saw its numbers drop, at least in the scoring column. Coming off a career-high 28 points, Chivers had just 27 points for the week, Lee 28. Each had a career-high six assists (and no turnovers) against NNU. Chivers did post his 14th double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) in that game. He leads the conference and ranks fifth nationally in rebounding (11.2). Lee, the NCAA’s No. 7 three-point shooter (.504), is the team’s top scorer (16.5), just ahead of Chivers (16.4).

Put-backs. The 103 points against Seattle U. was the first surpassing of the century mark this season...Lee is averaging 19.2 points and shooting 55 percent on the road this season...Steele has scored 41 points in his last three outings, hitting 13-21 from the floor...Chivers is converting 56.7 percent of his field goals in conference play...Chris Cohen (Sr., 6-8, Saint Helens, Or.) equaled his season-high with 11 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of relief against Northwest Nazarene...Scoring their first varsity points last week were Austin Yuen (Fr., 5-8, Mercer Island, Wa.) and Tim Gabelein (Fr., 6-6, Langley, Wa./South Whidbey). Each hit at least one free throw vs. Seattle U...Tony Binetti (So., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) notched his third double-digit assist game of the year with 10 against Seattle U. Knudson also had a career-high five assists vs. SU...Seattle Pacific is third in GNAC scoring offense (81.3), shooting (.476), three-point shooting (.409), rebounding margin (+3.1) and three-pointers made per game (8.73). Lee is third in thee-point accuracy (.504/60-119). Chivers is third in blocked shots (1.90). Binetti is fourth (5.0) in assists and seventh in steals (1.60)...SPU is 11-4 when shooting better than 45 percent from the field and also 11-4 when scoring at least 78 points. It is 9-5 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.