Getting settled. It’s the only true home stand of the season and it comes at an ideal time for the 7th-ranked Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team. Following their first defeat in more than a month, the Falcons (6-1, 14-2) play the next four contests in Brougham Pavilion, where they have won seven straight. Furthermore, it all begins with the extra trappings of homecoming festivities. SPU hosts Saint Martin’s (0-7, 5-11) Thursday night (Jan. 26) and crosstown rival Seattle University (3-4, 10-6) in a Saturday afternoon homecoming matinee (Jan. 28), then awaits Humboldt State Feb. 2.

Starting over. Each time Seattle Pacific has started a new win streak, it has done so by returning to fundamentals, specifically focusing on defense and good shot selection. It was the elixir which enabled the Falcons to shake off a pair of preseason losses, plus the first regular season setback at Nevada, and reel off five and nine consecutive wins, respectively. The latter run was ended by 2nd-ranked Western Washington, 95-84, last week in Bellingham. Earlier, SPU had turned back Central Washington, the No. 4 team in the region, 99-91.

Still looking good. Despite the loss, Coach Jeff Hironaka has got his squad in an excellent position. The Falcons were No. 2 (to Western) in the initial NCAA West Region rankings and only one game off the pace of the Vikings and two losses in front of both Central and Alaska Fairbanks in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. WWU comes to Brougham Feb. 16. Nationally, SPU slipped four places from its all-time high of No. 3 a week ago.

Home, sweet Brougham. Seattle Pacific has been unbeatable (6-0) at home this season and near-perfect (18-1) over two years. Visitors have sometimes stayed with SPU for a half, but whatever Hironaka tells the troops at the break has resulted in an average 12.0-point advantage in the second half. Offensively, the team is scoring 92.2 points per home game and shooting 53.9 percent from the field, including 46.3 percent in three-pointers. Furthermore, the Falcons have won 15 straight homecoming games. Six of the next eight outings are at home before finishing the regular season with three in a row on the road.

Senior citizens. On paper, Seattle Pacific was a bit of a hard sell in preseason. Unranked and, in fact, picked fourth in the GNAC, the Falcons were seen as perhaps depleted, having lost their top two scorers, including a two-time all-region center. But a key element never translates to statistics, and that’s chemistry. Hironaka has got it with this team, and the recipe revolves around leadership. Three seniors have taken giants steps forward. Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Whatcom CC) has been a steadying influence on the frontline. Point guard Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) has improved his numbers across the board (i.e., a rise of 4.8 points, 0.5 assists) and sixth man Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) is probably the most improved player in the conference, nearly tripling his scoring average to 11.2. All told, Williams, Binetti and Bushmaker have added 15.0 points to the offense over their junior totals.

A grand plateau. Barring a calamity, both Binetti and Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) will surpass 1000 career points this week. Binetti (991) is nine shy and Bremerman (985) 15 has to go. Based on form, they should both flip over the fourth digit Thursday. Bremerman is leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.3 after his combined 44 points last week. He went on a one-mean tear of 12 straight points midway through Central game and finished with 31. He is averaging 23.5 at home this season. Binetti poured in a career-high 27 at Ellensburg. Both went 10 for 10 from the foul line. Binetti already ranks No. 5 all-time playmakers in the GNAC. With another season remaining, Bremerman seems destined to finish among the Falcons top three career scorers, joining legends such as Loren Anderson, Jeff McBroom and Jim Ballard, who will be inducted into the school’s hall of fame Friday.

Put-backs. The nine straight wins was the longest streak during Hironaka’s tenure. The team and GNAC record is 15 in a row, set in ‘01-02...After shooting 53 percent or higher in six consecutive games, SPU was held to 43 percent at Bellingham. That and the five treys were the lowest totals in 10 games...In the New Year, SPU is scoring 91.5 points per game, up from the 82.5 in December. This month, Binetti and Bremerman have hit 54 percent of their threes (27-50) and Bushmaker has averaged 15.8 points...Visitors to Brougham Pavilion have shot only .430 from the field...Center Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea-Bellevue CC) snared a season-high 11 rebounds at Western Washington and matched his best with six blocked shots. The single game record is eight...The Falcons collected a season-high 15 offensive rebounds vs. the Vikings, led by four from Williams, and they made 49 of 56 free throws last week...Seattle Pacific is No. 1 in conference field goal percentage defense (.436) and blocked shots (4.4). It is No. 2 in overall shooting (.512, sixth in the NCAA), No. 3 in three-point accuracy (.399, 23rd in Div. II) and No. 4 in free throw percentage (.761, eighth nationally) and scoring (85.4, 21st in NCAA). Individually, Will leads in blocked shots (2.44, 13th in nation). Binetti is No. 2 in three-point accuracy (.524) and No. 5 in steals (1.88). Bushmaker is No. 4 in field-goal percentage (.648)...The GNAC finished a combined 24-9 against CCAA and Pacific West teams and 37-17 vs. Div. II members overall in non-conference play...The game at Western Washington attracted a capacity crowd and the largest to see a regular season game not involving Central in 36 years...SPU averaging 96.1 points and shooting 56 percent in GNAC play, with Bremerman (21.1) and Binetti (19.7) combining for nearly 41 points...Bremerman now has four games of 30 or more points, with three coming at home...The team still has an opportunity to match the best-ever 18-game mark of 16-2 (set in ‘01-02).

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.