Now ya see ‘em... December is a great month to be the travel agent for Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball. The undefeated and 11th-ranked Falcons are on the road during most of the two weeks before Christmas, so it's slim pickings for the fans. In the final Brougham Pavilion date prior to final exams and the aforementioned road trip, SPU (4-0) takes on Hawaii Pacific (0-1) in the second game of the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Challenge Saturday night (Dec. 3). In the first game, the women’s team faces Lewis-Clark State. The men will take a 10-day break before visiting Nevada Dec. 13.

Winning the tight ones. While Seattle Pacific is off to its best start in six seasons, the most impressive statistic is the ability to come through in the clutch. Three of the victories are by four or fewer points, and each of the nail-biters featured a different script. The Falcons have staved off two comebacks, staged one of their own, and made the decisive plays on both ends of the floor. SPU has won its first six games in 1998-99.

Getting attention. Apparently, the strong start got some people’s attention. Seattle Pacific is No. 11 in the first NABC regular season rankings for NCAA Division II. It’s the first ranking for the Falcons since Feb. 22. They were as high as No. 8 last season but were overlooked in the ‘05-06 preseason poll. Alabama’s Montevallo edged Bentley (Ma.) by one point for No. 1. Western Washington slipped four spots to No. 8.

Blown away. Of course, coach Jeff Hironaka is hoping that it won’t come down to the last shot Saturday. Non-conference games tend not to be all that close in the pavilion. SPU has won its last seven such games by an average margin of 18.4 points, and it has won 13 of its last 14 at home over two seasons. Great Northwest Athletic Conference play will begin at Brougham Dec. 31 against Northwest Nazarene.

We love L.A. The squad couldn’t have asked for a better Thanksgiving, apart from being home with family and all that home cooking. All and all, the weather in Los Angeles was great, the wins spectacular and the hotel turkey not bad. The Falcons survived a comeback bid by Cal State Dominguez Hills to prevail 70-68 in the first round of the Cal State L.A. tournament, then rallied from 16 down to beat the hosts, 73-70.

If you don’t first succeed. Shooting is considered to be one of the Falcons’ strong suits, so when they can win without it, so much the better. In Los Angeles, the ball wasn’t falling, particularly from the outside. SPU hit 45 percent from the field (compared to 50 percent in the first two games), and just 10 of 49 three-pointers. But they made up for the deficiency in other ways. The defense held their CCAA foes to combined 40-percent shooting. The tenacity showed up in blocks and steals, with advantages of 7-3 and 11-6, respectively.

Will power. Making a big difference for Seattle Pacific was center Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea-Bellevue CC). In the two games, Will scored 34 points, hitting 15-20 shots, and also grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked five shots. He scored the winning basket with 7 seconds left versus Dominguez Hills and had eight points in the final seven minutes against CSLA. Will is the early GNAC leader in blocks (2.50) and is sixth in field-goal accuracy (.656).

Sure guard. If there had been all-tournament team chosen in L.A., chances are good that both Will and Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) would’ve been included. Along with Will, it was Binetti who brought SPU back from 16 points down against the Golden Eagles. He scored all 22 of his points in the second half, including 11 during a 14-5 run to start the period. He hit 7-10 shots, including a pair of treys during the spree. His two free throws gave the Falcons the lead for good, 72-70. For the weekend, Binetti scored 33 points (12-26 FGs) and had nine assists.

Not this time. Apparently word got around about Dustin Bremerman (Jr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower). After his back-to-back 30-point games on opening weekend, Bremerman was undoubtedly the focus of the defensive scouting reports. Still, he managed to score 14 and 10 points, respectively. Taking up the slack were not only Will and Binetti, but also the likes of Drew Matzen (Jr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) and Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-8, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower). Matzen hit 5-9 shots and totaled 15 points and five assists. Bushmaker, who spelled Will inside, contributed an efficient 12 points (6-8 FGs) and eight boards.

Put-backs. After making all 13 of his free throws in the first two games, Bremerman did not take a single trip to the foul line last week. In fact, the Falcons were just 2-3 vs. Dominguez Hills...SPU remains the GNAC leader in treys per game (8.75) despite going cold in California...Bremerman is No. 1 in GNAC foul shooting and No. 4 in scoring (21.5). Binetti is No. 2 in assists (6.25)...Two GNAC teams beat Division I opponents last week. Alaska Anchorage dispatched Southern Illinois, 72-64, during the Great Alaska Shootout and Seattle U. won on the road at Portland, 88-85...GNAC teams are 12-5 against West Region foes, including 11-3 vs. the CCAA.

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.