Hark the Falcons. They’ll be wearing maroon, not red. They seek to take rather than give. But the Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team will be home for Christmas and hopefully one more win this week will put the Falcons in the most festive of moods. Fifth-ranked SPU (7-1) plays at Cal Poly Pomona (4-3) Wednesday night (Dec. 21) in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Division II tournament first-round game. Then comes a 10-day layoff before Great Northwest Athletic Conference play begins on Dec. 31, at home against Northwest Nazarene (4-2). The New Year of hoops begins Jan. 5 at Western Oregon.

SPU is coming to town. With Wednesday night’s game, Seattle Pacific will be wrapping-up a portion of the schedule during which it played six of seven on the road, and played rather well. The team is off to its best start in four years under Coach Jeff Hironaka following a pair of wins at the High Desert Classic. In fact, the sole loss was to Nevada, the 20th-ranked team in Div. I. Going into Pomona, SPU is undefeated against Div. II opposition, including a mark of 5-0 against teams in the West Region.

Come all ye faithful. The New Year’s Eve afternoon date will be the Falcons’ first at home in four weeks, and it will be the first chance for the fans to see the squad since it ascended into the top 10 of the national coaches poll. Hopefully Hironaka can guide his team in to ‘06 on a high note. His teams are 3-0 in GNAC openers, and this contest against Northwest Nazarene–picked to finished second in the preseason poll–figures to be pivotal with respect to the league championship.

O Tony B., O Tony B. While li’l ones wait for a bearded fat man with white hair to come through with gifts, the go-to guy for Seattle Pacific has been a sinewy, clean-shaven point guard with dark locks. In a tournament which featured three top-20 teams, very few individuals could match the contributions of Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.). In his two games in Las Vegas, Binetti came up big, totaling 41 points, four steals and two blocks while shooting 80 percent (12-15) from the field, 83 percent (10-12) from the foul line and 87 percent (7-8) from behind the three-point arc. Binetti became the team’s season scoring leader (16.6) and also leads the club in three other categories. He was selected as the co-player of the week in the GNAC.

Good Will. Santa could perhaps match him pound for pound, but Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea-Bellevue CC) probably has a 14-inch height advantage (not to mention youth and better shoes) on the sleighmaster. Will kept the Falcons in contention at Nevada, with 12 of his 17 points coming in the first half. He matched his season high with 19 plus nine rebounds in an 83-77 win over Pittsburg State (Ks.). Six points came in a 15-4 run which put SPU ahead by 11 with five minutes to go. Will is the GNAC blocked shots leader (2.50) and also ranks among the top 10 in rebounding (7th/7.0) and field-goal percentage (9th/.575). He averages 12.5 points.

No room on the bench. Depth was never one of Hironaka’s worries, and the reserves are now paying big dividends. Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) and Jared Moultrie (Jr., 6-2, West Point, Ut./Clearfield-Salt Lake CC) were clutch performers last week. Bushmaker averaged 10.3 points and shot 14-23 in the three games. He scored all of his season-high 13 points in the second half at Nevada. Moultrie saw 46 minutes of playing time in Vegas with just two turnovers, and his fadeaway three-pointer versus Pittsburg State in the final minute essentially sealed the win. He finished with a season-high nine points.

Not so frosty. Finally, the Falcons have rediscovered their shooting touch. Following three games in the deep freeze (a combined 41 percent), they hit a season-best 60 percent in the 93-65 win over Missouri Southern and 49 percent versus Pitt State. The basket came into focus from the three-point arc. After hitting only 21 percent (18 of 86) over four games, SPU connected on 44 percent (20-45) in Vegas. Rebounding is the team’s next order of business. Seattle Pacific has been out-boarded by an average of 9.2 per game in the last five outings and ranks last in the GNAC.

Put-backs. Defense continues to be at the foundation for the fast start. Seattle Pacific held Missouri Southern to 35 percent shooting and PSU to 42 percent. For the season, opponents are hitting just .419, which ranks second in the GNAC. SPU is shooting 75.0 percent from the foul line, third in the conference. Bremerman is No. 2 in free throw accuracy (.952). Binetti is No .4 in assists (5.0) and rose to No. 5 in three-point percentage (.484). Bushmaker is sixth in field-goal percentage (.600)...The final national rankings prior to New Year’s are due Dec. 20. SPU has been No. 5 for the past two weeks. No. 2 Tarleton State (Tx.) lost to both Humboldt State and Alaska Fairbanks in Arcata. Western Washington will likely move up from No. 4...Drew Matzen (Jr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) posted career highs of 16 points and nine rebounds versus Missouri Southern and Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison-Whatcom CC) notched a season-high 17. Matzen was 7-8 from the field, hitting both of his treys while Williams was 7-10 and 3-4 outside the arc...With 23 points last week, Dustin Bremerman (Jr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) surpassed the 800-point plateau in career scoring...The squad will disperse to their respective homes upon returning from California, with practices resuming the evening of Dec. 26...The Falcons’ 83-57 loss at Nevada was their 17th straight to a Div. program since 1986-87. SPU got within 15 early in the second half...

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.