A week for the Birds. Will this be the Week of the Raptors? Could be, if you’re a fan of birds of prey from the Puget Sound area. In advance of the Seahawks meeting the Steelers in Super Bowl XL, a very fine Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team plays a pair of home games with first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference likely hanging in the balance. The 5th-ranked Falcons (8-1, 16-2) will first be tested by giant killer Humboldt State (5-4, 11-6) Thursday night (Feb. 2) before closing-out a four-game home stand Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) versus Western Oregon (2-7, 7-11). Next week the scene shifts north to Alaska for a couple games, beginning in Fairbanks Feb. 9.

Pivotal games. With the race in the GNAC and the West Region of NCAA Division II tightening going into the final five weeks, SPU and its fellow contenders will no doubt fell the pressure. The Falcons caught Western Washington in the conference standings after holding serve at home last week. At stake is not only the GNAC crown but, more importantly, probably the top seed in the West and right to host the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament. A new regional ranking will be issued Feb. 1.

Next-to-last stand. It’s imperative that Seattle Pacific continue to win at home, where it will play only 12 times during the regular season. After this home stand concludes, only two dates remain. But so far, so good. The Falcons are perfect at Brougham Pavilion (8-0) this season and have won 20 of their last 21 over two years. A candidate for GNAC coach of the year, Jeff Hironaka continues to make the necessary halftime adjustments. Last week, SPU trailed Saint Martin’s and was only two points ahead of Seattle University at the break, yet pulled away for wins by scores of 88-76 and 82-73, respectively. The Falcons have out-scored visitors by an average of 11.4 points in the second half of home games. They have now matched the best-ever 18-game mark, set in ‘01-02.

Tighten the screws. Based on the evidence, Hironaka’s halftime chats must include the ‘D’ word. In six of eight home games, the opponents’ shooting has taken a nosedive over the final 20 minutes, and five have been held below 43 percent by the SPU defense. Witness Saint Martin’s going from 64 percent to 43 and Seattle U. cooling to 45 percent. Individually, reserve guard Jared Moultrie (Jr., 6-2, West Point, Ut./Clearfield-Salt Lake CC) seems to relish the role of sticking to the opponent’s top gun. He helped quiet Bernard Seals of the Redhawks. Seals scored 15 in the first half, but was just 2-8 from the field in the second under the guard of Moultrie.

Open the floodgates. Meanwhile, stopping the SPU offense is a much more complex situation. Fix one leak and another erupts. Five players average in double figures and others are emerging. Drew Matzen (Jr., 6-4, Lynnwood, Wa./Bothell) has been tormenting teams with timely three-pointers the past three weeks. Matzen has drilled 10 of 18 treys over those six games, and finished with 10 or more points in three of them. The other starting forward, Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Whatcom CC), has averaged 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in January. Against Saint Martin’s, center Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea-Bellevue CC) burst upon the scene, especially in the second stanza. He scored 11 of his 17 points after intermission, hitting all five of his field goals (two dunks), and also grabbing 10 boards.

A grand plateau. Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) and Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) are the two primary prongs of the attack, and they have now surpassed 1000 career points. Binetti produced several clutch plays last week, scoring 15 of his 24 points in the final eight minutes against Seattle U. and contributing 12 points and seven assists against Saint Martin’s in the second half. Bremerman supplied 28 points in the two games and now has 1013 points for his career. Binetti, who totaled 46 points (15-20 FGs), is at 1037.

Put-backs. Sixth man Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) is the team’s No. 3 scorer (11.4), behind Binetti (18.7) and Bremerman (17.8). No nonstarter has averaged above 11.0 points since John Hubbard’s 13.7 in ‘99-00. Bushmaker has finished with 10 or more points in 10 of the last 11 outings, and totaled 27 last week on 9-12 shooting...For January, Binetti averaged 20.9 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 64 percent from the field and 57 percent on threes...Seattle Pacific is No. 1 in conference blocked shots (4.3). It is No. 2 in overall shooting (.513, 7th in the NCAA) and field goal percentage defense (.443) and No. 3 in three-point accuracy (.394, 26th in Div. II). SPU is 13th in NCAA free throw percentage (.754). Individually, Will leads in blocked shots (2.28, 14th in nation). Binetti is No. 2 in three-point accuracy (.535), No. 4 in assists (5.2) and No. 5 in steals (2.11). Bushmaker is No. 4 in field-goal percentage (.658)...SPU is averaging 93.7 points and shooting 55 percent in GNAC play, with Binetti (20.4) and Bremerman (19.6) and combining for 40 points...The Falcons have now won 16 straight homecoming games...Each of the top four teams in the nation suffered losses last week, enabling SPU to rise two spots and also claim one of eight first-place votes. Virginia Union took over at No. 1. Western Washington is No. 4...Regionally, SPU has a shot at No. 1, following Western’s loss at Humboldt. Chaminade, the No. 3 team, won two of three games...Seattle Pacific and WWU are two games ahead of Alaska Fairbanks in the GNAC.

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.