Go north, young men. Sometimes the climb to the top is easy compared to staying there. Seattle Pacific University has taken over first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings by the slimmest of margins. Now the 5th-ranked Falcons (10-1, 18-2) must face five opponents who have been regionally ranked this season, with only two of those meetings at home. It all starts Thursday night (Feb. 9) at defending GNAC champion Alaska Fairbanks (7-4, 14-6). SPU visits Alaska Anchorage (5-6, 14-9) before returning for its final two regular season home games. No. 4-ranked Western Washington will come to Brougham Pavilion Feb. 16.

Gotta beat the best. The conference race could very well crystallize in the next two weeks, with the GNAC trophy and the top seed in the West Region of NCAA Division II going to the team which can emerge unscathed. Each of the Falcons’ upcoming foes are joining the fight; the Alaskans, Central Washington (Feb. 18) and Seattle University (Feb. 23) all cling to postseason hopes, while Western holds the edge over SPU in the West seeding to date. Postseason berths will be announced Mar. 5, with the No. 1 seed hosting the regional tournament.

Lookee here. While the Super Bowl Seahawks have seized the spotlight for the past couple months, the rest of the Seattle sports community has kept on chugging, and the Falcons could rate as the current feel-good story. They have defied the prognosticators by coming out of nowhere (picked fourth in the GNAC) to match their best-ever start and earn a national top-10 ranking for nine consecutive weeks. Coach Jeff Hironaka has his players executing crisply, exhibiting exceptional team basketball. In the last five games there have been four different top scorers and SPU has averaged over 90 points and shot at least 52 percent in 10 of the last 11 outings.

Dustin B. good. As the Falcons fly north they bring one player in no need of a hand warmer. Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) provided some deep heat in last week’s home wins over Humboldt State (97-92) and Western Oregon (94-79). He stroked a career-high seven three-pointers in the first game and has hit 16 of 27 treys in his last three games. Fourteen of Bremerman’s 27 points versus Humboldt came during a 23-8 charge which gave SPU its biggest lead, 83-69, with 7:16 left. Capping the spree was Bremerman’s fourth straight three-pointer. He also scored 20 against the Wolves and has remained unselfish, with six assists in each contest.

Will power. Lest opponents extend their defenses to take away the perimeter, Seattle Pacific possesses a powerful presence inside. Center Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea) provided plenty of muscle last week, particularly against WOU. Will got a career-best 22 points while only missing one of nine shots. For the week he totaled 38 points–shooting 73 percent (16-22)–14 rebounds and five blocked shots. Those numbers helped earn Will his first GNAC player of the week. He leads the league in blocked shots (2.3) and ranks among the leaders in rebounding (6th/6.6) and field goal percentage (10th/.586) while averaging 11.4 points.

Numbers speak. Seattle Pacific is close to securing another 20-win season, which would put Hironaka in some heady company. Only two SPU coaches have achieved back-to-back 20-win campaigns–Les Habegger (1957-74) and Ken Bone (1990-02)–and only Bone can match Hironaka in terms of a fast start to his tenure. Bone won 79 games in his first four seasons and his successor currently has 68 victories with seven regular season games remaining. Hironaka’s first postseason appearance came in his third year, Bone’s in his fourth. In the modern era of Falcon basketball there have been 13 20-win seasons and 11 of those teams have qualified for the playoffs, including each of the last seven.

Put-backs. In the last three games, SPU has hit 49 percent of its three-point shots...Besides Bremerman, Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Whatcom CC) also drilled a career-best four treys vs. HSU and SPU made a season-high 15...Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) has averaged 7.0 assists during the four-game home stand...Drew Matzen (Jr., 6-4, Lynnwood, Wa./Bothell) has hit 11 of 19 treys in the last eight games...Sixth man Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower), the team’s No. 3 scorer (11.5), was held under 10 points (8) for the first time in seven games vs. WOU...Jared Moultrie (Jr., 6-2, West Point, Ut./Clearfield-Salt Lake CC) has 14 assists in the last three games...The 24 rebounds vs. Western Oregon was the lowest total of the season, and SPU was out-rebounded 76-57 in the two games...At home, where SPU has won 11 in a row (10 this season), the Falcons are shooting 55 percent overall and 46 percent on treys. They are averaging 91.4 points, with a 10.0-point advantage in second halves. Last week they made 59.5 percent from the field, 53.7 percent behind the arc...Hironaka has used the same starting five in each game...Seattle Pacific is No. 1 in conference blocked shots (4.35). It is No. 2 in overall shooting (.521, 3rd in the NCAA) and field goal percentage defense (.446) and No. 3 in scoring (86.4, 15th nationally) and three-point accuracy (.408, 13th in Div. II). SPU is 12th in NCAA free throw percentage (.736). Individually, Will leads in blocked shots (2.30, 14th in nation). Binetti is No. 2 in three-point accuracy (.519), and No. 4 in assists (5.3) and steals (1.90). Bushmaker is No. 4 in field-goal percentage (.649). Bremerman is fifth in GNAC three-point accuracy (.458) and 14th in the NCAA (Binetti would be tied for No. 1 but does not meet minimum threes per game)...None of the top 18 teams in the nation suffered losses last week, consequently those positions remained unchanged. Virginia Union is No. 1, followed by Fort Hays State (Ks.), Southern Indiana, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific...Regionally, Western and SPU may separate from the pack following losses by No. 3 Chaminade, No. 4 Sonoma State and Alaska Fairbanks last week... Seattle Pacific and WWU are now three games ahead of Alaska Fairbanks in the GNAC...Both games this week be be heard live on the Internet, at www.820sports.com and www.goseawolves.com, respectively.

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.