Conference lead at stake. First place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and perhaps the West Region of men’s basketball will be among the spoils this week if Seattle Pacific University can hold serve in a pair of home games. The 11th-ranked Falcons (4-1, 12-3) take an unbeaten Brougham Pavilion record into Thursday night’s (Jan. 20) bout with Alaska Anchorage (2-4, 8-7). Should they prevail, Saturday afternoon’s (Jan. 22) game with No. 16 Alaska Fairbanks (5-1, 11-4) will likely determine first place in conference. Next week the first half of the GNAC season will wrap-up at Western Oregon and Humboldt State.

That’s more like it. With a dozen wins and a 7-0 record at home, this SPU squad is bearing more and more resemblance to those great teams of the past 10 years. In fact, Coach Jeff Hironaka’s club owns an identical record to that of the ‘99-00 team which won the West and reached the NCAA Division II semifinals. This is also the first time the Falcons have won their first seven home dates since going 15-0 in 1996-97. Last week they defeated 14th-ranked Western Washington, 76-68, to take over sole possession of second place in the GNAC and earn a national ranking for the first time in three seasons.

No creampuffs, just desserts. As rewarding as it would be, a national ranking is meaningless, at least compared to the NCAA regional poll which is due to be released weekly beginning Wednesday. The top eight teams in that poll will be chosen for the NCAA tournament in March, with the No. 1 seed serving as host. While Western Washington was first, Fairbanks second and SPU third a couple weeks ago, that order has changed, and will probably change over and over again during the final seven weeks. The most competitive GNAC field, top to bottom, in many years is producing unpredictable outcomes nearly on a nightly basis. Six of the last 14 league games have been decided by three or fewer points and seven teams own records of .500 or higher.

Gotta be Tony B. Sometimes the biggest acquisition from one year to another is not necessarily a new player. In the case of Seattle Pacific, the difference between being 7-8 a year ago and 12-3 now is maturity. It’s the same coach, same starting five and, if anything, a more difficult schedule, so the difference must have come from within. And no player has grown into his role more than point guard Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.). He may rate as one of the most improved players in the GNAC, particularly on the offensive end. Binetti has raised his shooting percentage by 18 full points, ranking second in the conference at 59.8 percent. His three-point accuracy has jumped from 24 percent to a GNAC-best 56 percent and he’s also second in assists (4.9). Moreover, his court presence and management of the offense has helped SPU go 7-0 in games decided by 10 or fewer points.

Wings take flight. With Western Washington determined to deny entry passes and scoring chances for center Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech), it was the wings who paved the way to victory over the Vikings. Chivers attempted just one field goal. Meanwhile, Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) and Chad Williams (Jr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison-Whatcom CC) effectively shot and slashed their way to the hoop, combining for 33 points on 12 for 22 shooting, including 5 of 9 three-pointers. Bremerman and Binetti each scored 18 points while Williams equaled his career high with 15 and added nine rebounds. Eight of his points came at the end of pivotal 10-1 run late in the second half, giving SPU a 10-point advantage. Bremerman is now third on the team in scoring (13.1) and ranked in ninth in the nation this week with a free throw percentage of 92.1 percent.

Mending de fence. One harbinger of success for past Seattle Pacific teams was defense. When they last won the conference and went to the NCAA tourney in 2001, the Falcons allowed opponents to shoot just 41.5 percent from the floor and yielded just 67.6 points. This year’s squad has improved significantly over a year ago, giving up two fewer points per game despite playing an up-tempo style. The more telling stats are a defensive field-goal percentage of .418 (No. 2 in the GNAC), with only four foes shooting above 44 percent. Western Washington, the No. 6 scoring offense, was held 23 points under its average on just 32-percent shooting.

Put-backs. The Falcons have out-scored opponents in the second half of six straight games, and by an average of 9.8 over that span and 5.3 for the season...Hironaka went with a 9-man rotation last week, with each of the starters playing 24-35 minutes...Bremerman is averaging a team-high 16.6 points in GNAC play, just ahead of Binetti’s 15.4. Williams is shooting 58.8 percent in six league games...Chivers clamped 13 rebounds last week...SPU has beaten two ranked teams this season, including Western and Central Missouri, now rated 21st. It lost at Hawaii Hilo, now 24th...Seattle Pacific has made over 50 percent of its field goals in 10 of its wins this season and is 20-3 when doing so over the past two seasons...The Falcons are No. 1 in the conference and sixth nationally in field-goal percentage (.508) and defensive three-point percentage (.303). They are No. 2 in scoring (84.1) and defensive field-goal percentage (.418), and No. 3 in three-point shooting (.411). Individually, Ralph Steele (Sr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al./Huffman-Citrus JC) leads the GNAC in free throw percentage (.933) and has made 17 straight since Dec. 10. Bremerman is No. 3 (.921). Binetti is No. 1 in three-point shooting (.564), No. 2 in assists (4.9) and overall accuracy (.598) and No. 10 in steals (1.43). Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) is third in three-point accuracy (.507) and sixth in the NCAA. Steele is also fifth in shooting (.554). Chivers is No. 3 in rebounding (9.4) and No. 7 in blocks (1.07).

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.