Holding court. With nine games remaining in the regular season and holding to the slimmest of leads in the league standings, the Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team must get accustomed to must-win situations on a nightly basis if the Falcons hope to remain frontrunners for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown and a high seed in the NCAA West Regional. On the menu during this week are contests with a pair of the most unpredictable teams in the conference. SPU (7-2, 15-4) goes after its 10th straight home win in a rare Wednesday night (Feb. 2) game with Saint Martin’s (5-4, 8-10). The largest crowd of the season will be on hand Saturday afternoon (Feb. 5) for the homecoming matchup with Central Washington (4-5, 8-10). After that, the next three are on the road, beginning Feb. 12 at Western Washington.

Looking good. Despite their road split last week, the Falcons remain in great shape with regard to qualifying for the NCAA tournament and earning a GNAC championship, both for the first time in three years. Coach Jeff Hironaka has his team atop the conference ladder, one game ahead of both Western Washington and preseason favorite Alaska Fairbanks. Last week SPU was No. 1 in the West Region rankings. Hawaii Hilo, which was idle last week, was No. 2. The top seed can host the regional tournament in March.

Home, sweet Brougham. Seattle Pacific has proven to be unbeatable at home this season, going 9-0 and winning by an average margin of 14.3 points. Furthermore, the Falcons have won 14 straight homecoming games. Historically, they have needed to stay nearly perfect on their home floor. Of the six conference titles since 1991, SPU has never lost more than once at home in league play. The last time it finished a season undefeated at home was 1996-97.

Every which way. Without question, the strength of this year’s team is its offensive firepower, but the Falcons have also demonstrated a knack for doing the job on defense. They lead the GNAC in defensive shooting percentages for both three-pointers and all field goals, and in four of the last five games opponents have failed to hit better than 41 percent from the field. At Western Oregon, with the offense stalled like no other night in the last seven years, defense kept SPU close to the Wolves, who eventually prevailed 61-59. Two nights later at Humboldt State, the Lumberjacks were held to a season-low total in a 79-57 victory. For scoreboard watchers, the tipping point this season is the 80-point plateau; when Seattle Pacific scores at least 80 points its record is 9-0 and when opponents core more than 80 points the record is 2-3.

On any given night, center Jason Chivers could be the most dominant player in the West. In the last six games, he’s converted 68 percent of his field goals.

Chivers sends shivers. On any given night, center Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca./Highland-L.A. Trade Tech) could be the most dominant player in the West, and although the big guy is still learning the game, those nights of dominance are getting closer and closer together. A week after erupting for a career-high 33 points, Chivers was in rare form again, pounding down 26 points on Humboldt State. Lately, if Chivers gets the ball in good position, he is nearly an automatic point producer. In the last six games he’s converted 68 percent of his field goals and in the last three outings he’s made 9 of 11 at the foul line. Chivers leads the team in scoring (15.2), rebounding (9.5) and blocked shots (1.11) this year.

January man. If the GNAC awarded a player of the month, Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) could present a strong argument for January honors. The point guard has begun to come of age, scoring in double figures each of the seven games, averaging 17.3 points and shooting 67 percent from the field. At Humboldt Binetti was instrumental in squashing the ‘Jacks’ last gasp, figuring in 16 of 24 points scored during a stretch when the lead nearly doubled from 12 to 23. Binetti leads the conference in three-point accuracy (.569), is No. 2 in overall field-goal percentage (.630) and No. 3 in assists (4.8).

Put-backs. Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) is coming off his most quiet week in over a year, scoring only eight points and attempting seven shots. Bremerman had totaled 46 points in his previous two games...In the last four games the Falcons have shot 81.3 percent at the foul line and in conference play they are converting 75.5 percent...Matt Birkle (So., 6-2, Anacortes, Wa./Anacortes-Whatcom CC) sparked a run of 16 unanswered points at HSU with two baskets, a steal and an assist in five minutes...The Falcons have out-scored opponents in the second half of 10 straight games, and by an average of 9.2 over that span...Binetti is averaging 16.6 points in GNAC play...Seattle Pacific has made over 50 percent of its field goals in 13 of its wins this season and is 23-3 when doing so over the past two seasons...The Falcons are No. 1 in the conference and fourth nationally in field-goal percentage (.515). They also lead the league in defensive overall field goal percentage (.426) three-point percentage (.310). They are No. 2 in three-point shooting percentage (.409), also rating 14th nationally, and No. 3 in scoring (83.8). Individually, Bremerman leads the GNAC in free throw percentage and is fourth in the NCAA (.909). Binetti is No. 8 in foul shooting (.809) and No. 7 in steals (1.50). Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) is seventh in three-point accuracy (.469). Chivers is No. 2 in rebounding (9.5), No. 6 in scoring and No. 4 in blocks.

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.