One more before road. After the blue books, the Scantron forms and all the final exams of fall quarter are completed, Seattle Pacific University will send its men’s basketball team onto its home court for one last time before the holidays. The Falcons (5-2) seek their fourth straight win when they face Pacific Lutheran (2-5) in the first of five consecutive non-conference games Friday night (Dec. 10). The final two contests prior to Christmas are at the High Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Dec. 18-19.

Not bad at all. Despite the toughest early-season schedule in several years, Seattle Pacific is off to a rather strong start. In fact, with a victory this week it will rate as the best beginning in Coach Jeff Hironaka’s three seasons. More importantly, his squad won its first two Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. That’s sufficient for a share of the lead with Western Washington and Alaska Fairbanks. The Falcons put together a solid offensive showing to defeat Seattle University 90-81, then got some key defensive stops and clutch plays to beat Northwest Nazarene, 75-67. Incidentally, SPU is seeking to start 4-0 at Brougham Pavilion for the first time since 1996-97.

Frontline leans left. If only 10 percent of Americans are left-handed, then the Seattle Pacific starting frontline must qualify as seriously freakish on a statistical scale. Although they are challenged by the lack of appropriate scissors, basketball is an equal-opportunity activity, and center Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) and forwards Chad Williams (Jr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington Edison-Whatcom CC) and Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) all choose to shoot with their southpaw. And they would do proud the likes of Lenny Wilkens, Willis Reed, Bill Russell and David Robinson. Chivers was among the top rebounders in the NCAA last season, Bremerman was the conference freshman of the year and this season Williams rates among the GNAC leaders in both rebounding and three-point shooting. Together against Northwest Nazarene, the Leftovers combined to score 54 points, converting 17-30 field goals.

Floor leader Tony. The best of point guards will always find a way to help their team win, whether it’s defending, protecting the ball, passing or, on occasion, scoring. Last week, Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) chose the latter three options. Binetti began the home stand by erupting for a career-high 22 points versus Seattle U., connecting on 8-10 shots. Against NNU, he ran the break and passed for 10 assists, and cemented the verdict by hitting all six of his free throws in the second half. Perhaps best yet, he committed just two turnovers for the week.

Back on track. Somewhat quiet to this point, Bremerman began to assert himself offensively in the last outing, pumping in a season-high 24 points. He wasted little time getting started, swishing his first three treys and scoring 11 points in the first three minutes. He then added a key layup and two free throws in the final 68 seconds as the Falcons quelled an NNU rally. Bremerman’s averaging 11.9 points but the biggest difference over his first season is his passing. Already he has 28 assists (he had 54 all last year) and only eight turnovers. He’s also perfected his foul-shooting stroke, making 23 of 25 attempts to rank third in the GNAC at 92.0 percent.

Put-backs. Chivers added two more double-doubles and had 28 points and 22 rebounds for the week...Williams has shot 14-23 and averaged 12.7 points in the last three games...The backcourt mustered only a total of 14 points (just three field goals) vs. NNU. Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian), who had averaged 17.2 points in the first five games, was just 5-17 last week. Reserve Ralph Steele (Sr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) is approaching his form of last season. Steele totaled 14 points and six assists in the two wins...The five turnovers in the SU game matched the fewest by an SPU team in at least nine seasons...In the current win string, SPU is shooting 47 percent (23-49) on threes...The Falcons were 21-23 on free throws vs. NNU...Seattle Pacific, which shot 58 percent vs. SU and 50 percent vs. NNU, has made over 50 percent of its field goals in each win this season and is 15-3 when doing so over the past two seasons...Seattle Pacific’s 8.4 treys per game is second in the GNAC as is its accuracy of .410. The Falcons are No .3 in scoring (79.6), field-goal percentage (.485) and defensive field-goal percentage (.427). Individually, Chivers leads the conference in rebounding (10.6) and is 10th in scoring (13.6). Binetti is No. 3 in assists (4.4) and eighth in field-goal percentage (.542), Bremerman is fifth in assists (4.0). Lee is third in three-point accuracy (.568) and eighth in scoring (14.7). Williams is eighth in three-point shooting (.458) and ninth in rebounding (6.4)...Former all-region forward Emile Shepherd (1994-96) has been named player/coach of the Hermisillo (Mexico) Seris of the ABA.

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.