Tough trip. With a mind toward toughening the team before games begin to count, Seattle Pacific University takes on a couple men’s basketball heavyweights in preseason exhibitions. The Falcons, who are coming off a 20-9 season, will play a pair of Division I programs on the road, beginning Thursday night (Nov. 10) at Brigham Young. The final dress rehearsal comes Saturday night (Nov. 12) at New Mexico before starting the 2005-06 season at home Nov. 18 against Cal State Monterey Bay.

Three pieces in place. Coach Jeff Hironaka is back for his fourth year after marching his team to the NCAA Division II tournament faster than any coach in program history. Hironaka hopes to build off that success and three returning starters provide a sound foundation. Point guard Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 assists and hit 48 percent of his three-pointers. Dustin Bremerman (Jr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) has proven to be a versatile scoring threat, averaging nearly 13 points over his first two seasons. Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Whatcom CC), the squad’s No. 2 rebounder (5.7), returns to the high post.

Big shoes to fill. Still, the Falcons have got their work cut out. They lost their top two scorers, plus a high-scoring nonstarter. Redshirt Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea-Bellevue CC) takes over for two-time all-region center Jason Chivers. Will averaged 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots as freshman at BCC in ‘03-04. Among the candidates for the other starting spot are Drew Matzen (Jr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) and Brian Lynch (Jr., 6-1, Missoula, Mt./Great Falls), a transfer from Montana. Last year SPU got 15 points per game from senior Jordan Lee while Ralph Steele was a steady contributor off the bench.

Might as well. Hironaka is not a fan of creampuff schedules to fatten the win total. His non-conference contests are intended to prepare Seattle Pacific for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and beyond. A year ago, the Falcons faced Nevada in the preseason and Washington to open the regular season. This time around, SPU is facing a BYU team with four returning starters and a New Mexico club that has eight letterman back from an NCAA tournament team which was 26-7. The Lobos are coached by Seattle Pacific alum and former assistant coach Ritchie McKay.

Catch ‘em quick. The Falcons will play precious few home games between the holidays. Following a faceoff with regional power Cal State San Bernardino Nov. 19, eight of the next 10 are on the road. Brougham Pavilion will go quiet between the Dec. 3 bout with Hawaii Pacific and the GNAC opener Dec. 31 versus Northwest Nazarene. In between are trips to Los Angeles, Reno, Las Vegas and Pomona. The latter is a rematch of last year’s meeting with Cal Poly in the first round of the NCAA West Regional. Nevada is the sole Div. I team on the regular season menu. Seattle Pacific was 11-1 at the pavilion last season, losing its only game by two points.

Go figure. Given the loss of Lee and Chivers, the GNAC coaches pegged SPU for fourth place in the preseason poll. Western Washington was the unanimous favorite, followed by Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage. The Falcons are gunning for their first league title since 2002. They were third in ‘03 and ‘05 under Hironaka.

Opening night highlights. SPU made its preseason debut Nov. 1 by beating Another Level Blue Angels, a collection of ex-collegians, 102-79. Bremerman led the way with 21 points and Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) added 19 off the bench. In all, six players finished in double figures and, despite having only 12 practices, only 14 turnovers were committed. The Falcons shot just 8-28 outside the arc but their transition game helped elevate it to 47 percent overall.

Put-backs. Matzen, Bremerman, Binetti, Will and Williams started the preseason opener...Nine of Seattle Pacific’s 16 20-win seasons have come with Hironaka on the coaching staff...Former Falcon Eric Sandrin was one of the final preseason cuts by the Sacramento Kings. He signed with the CBA Sioux Falls (SD) Skyforce Nov. 4. Sandrin, the starting center in 2001 and ’02, played part of last season with the Harlem Globetrotters. His younger brother, Daniel, has signed to play of the KTG Stars in Korea...Bruce Zabukovec, a member of the 2000 Final Four team, is playing with the ABA New Mexico Style...Yusef Aziz is playing pro ball in Brazil...Seattle Pacific made over 50 percent of its field goals in 17 of its 20 wins last season and is 27-5 when doing so over the past two seasons. It was 13-1 last season when scoring at least 80 points...Only one opponent out-scored SPU during the second half in the last 20 games, with the Falcons averaging 8.8 points more than opponents over that span. In eight of the nine losses, they trailed by at least five at the break, with the average margin 12.4 points...SPU led the GNAC in free throw accuracy (.762) and was second in both field-goal percentage (.501) and field-goal percentage defense (.439). Individually, Bremerman was No. 2 in free throw percentage (.879). Binetti was No. 3 in three-point accuracy (.481) and steals (1.68)...The GNAC is tentatively scheduled to go with nine teams beginning in ‘06-07 since Humboldt State is moving to the CCAA...Freshmen Erik Bright, Rob Diederichs and Adam Wardell did not see action in the first exhibition and may redshirt.

Coaching Staff. In his first season Jeff Hironaka won more games (16) than all but one other first-year SPU coach, and he took a team to the NCAA tournament in only his third year–faster than any predecessor. His record entering this season is 50-33. 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 conference championships and qualified for eight NCAA tournaments, including a Final Four in 2000. Hironaka is the second Japanese-American head coach of a four-year collegiate program. Brock Veltri is in his second season as the chief assistant.

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.