Let the league begin. Five games into the men’s basketball season, Seattle Pacific University is pretty much sitting where it should, battle-tested but ready for the start of Great Northwest Athletics Conference play. The Falcons (3-2) finally get a chance to get settled at home, opening a three-game home stand Thursday night (Dec. 2) against Seattle University (3-1) in the first of 18 league contests. Saturday night (Dec. 4) Northwest Nazarene (2-2) is the foe. Following final exams, Pacific Lutheran pulls into the pavilion Dec. 10.

Better for it. All along, Coach Jeff Hironaka knew that his team would absorb its share of knocks in November. The team played five games in nine days, in three arenas across three time zones. The Falcons not only won respect but three of the games, and arrive home on a high note, having wrapped-up second place in the Hilo Shootout by pulling away from Shippensburg in the second half for a 90-69 victory. Less than 16 hours after hitting just 36 percent of their shots in an 84-70 loss to host Hawaii Hilo, they connected on 58 percent, including 68 percent in the second half. In the three wins, SPU is shooting 54 percent and averaging 10.3 three-pointers and 83.7 points.

Picked second. The current records of the GNAC teams bear little resemblance to the coaches’ preseason poll, in which Seattle Pacific was picked to finish second to Alaska Fairbanks. Three of the teams in that poll have gone through a grueling early-season schedule, with SPU, Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage (both 2-3) all losing games to Division I programs. However, the preseason poll doesn’t mean squat when the whistle blows and the ball goes up. Witness two years ago when Alaska Fairbanks won a share of the GNAC title after being pegged for 10th.

No charity begins at home. The road to a championship in the GNAC begins and ends at home. Humboldt State lost only one home game in taking first place the past two seasons. Fairbanks finished second last year, the difference being the Nanooks’ sole home loss in the GNAC opener. The lesson for the Falcons: there is precious little margin for error in this conference. Seattle Pacific is seeking to reestablish its reputation as an inhospitable host. It won 40 of 43 league games from 1996-01 but has gone just 13-5 the past two in Brougham Pavilion.

He’s No. 1. When basketball or any sport is being played well, to the outsider it looks easy. And right now the game seems to being played almost effortlessly by Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian). Since scoring 22 points in the opener at Washington, Lee has looked more and more in command, particularly on the offensive end. He scored 18 in the 77-68 win over Hillsdale and 20 against Shippensburg. Like almost every other teammate, he struggled to hit the hoop against Hilo. Still, he’s swishing three-pointers (3.8 per game) at a rate of 58 percent and leads the Falcons in scoring, averaging 17.2.

Supporting cast coming forth. Lee’s outside scoring and the strong inside play of center Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) forms a potent 1-2 punch. Yet there will be nights when more is required of the remaining cast, and thankfully help appears to be on the way. Fellow starters Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.), Chad Williams (Jr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington Edison-Whatcom CC) and Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) have come up big in each of the wins. Now, key reserves Ralph Steele (Sr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) and Mike Bushmaker (Jr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) are answering the call. Steele hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 16 points in 16 minutes versus Shippensburg, and Bushmaker posted a career-high 16 points against Hilo. Bremerman, Binetti and Williams have made a combined 62 percent of their field goals in the wins.

Put-backs. SPU has made over 50 percent of its field goals in each win this season and is 13-3 when doing so over the past two seasons...Chivers scored just three points in 16 foul-plagued minutes vs. Hilo but bounced back with 17 points and 15 rebounds vs. Shippensburg...SPU, which plays five of the next seven at home and another two on neutral hardwood in Las Vegas, will not play another true road game until Jan. 6 at Central Washington...The Falcons’ 36 percent shooting vs. Hilo was the coldest in Hironaka’s tenure as coach...Binetti is 14-17 on field goals and Bremerman 14-24 in the three victories. They were a combined 7-30 in the two losses... Bremerman passed for a career-high eight assists vs. Hillsdale and Williams pulled down a career-best 11 boards vs. Hilo...Seattle Pacific’s 9.2 treys per game leads the GNAC and its overall accuracy of .393 is third. The statistical oddity is free throw percentage. After leading the nation last year at .794, the Falcons are ninth in the GNAC so far at .646. Individually, Chivers leads the conference in rebounding (10.4). Lee is No. 3 in three-point shooting (.576) and No. 6 in scoring. Bremerman is No. 4 in assists (4.0).

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. Brock Veltri is Hironaka’s chief assistant. Veltri spent two years in a similar position with Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. A former Idaho State graduate assistant, he played two years at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Wa. Scott Reid, a King Co coach of the year at Bellevue’s Newport High School, is in his second season and George Parker, who first served as a volunteer assistant in 1986, returns for his 16th year.

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.

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.