3 for the road. There are no home games remaining, but it’s nothing that can’t be changed by a few wins. Undoubtedly, the race for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship and the right to host the NCAA Division II West Regional will be determined in these final two weeks of the men’s basketball regular season. Right now, No. 16-ranked Seattle Pacific University (12-3, 20-4) may hold a slight edge over Western Washington. However, the Falcons must play their final three games on the road, beginning Thursday night (Feb. 23) at Seattle University (6-8, 13-10), another team with postseason aspirations. SPU goes south to Saint Martin’s (2-12, 7-16) Saturday (Feb. 25) before ending the season Mar. 4 at Northwest Nazarene.

Wins and return home? Currently, Seattle Pacific holds a slim lead over Western Washington in the GNAC after beating the Vikings at home, 90-86, last week. That outcome might also elevate SPU into the No. 1 spot in the Feb. 22 regional poll. If the Falcons can maintain that position, the regional tournament would come to Brougham Pavilion March 10, 11 and 13. They have only hosted a West Regional twice before (1965, 2000) and each time emerged as tournament champions and the West representative to the Elite Eight.

It begins with ‘D.’ Although SPU finished with a near-prefect (11-1) record at home, some of its best performances have come on the road. Seattle Pacific has beaten three regionally-ranked opponents in hostile surroundings and is 9-3 overall away from the pavilion. Generally, the Falcons have played more determined defense on the road, allowing Div. II opponents to shoot only 44 percent from the field. After dropping two of their last three games to hot-shooting foes (combined 54 percent from the field, 49 percent on three-pointers), Coach Jeff Hironaka will certainly emphasize commitment to that end of the court in the upcoming games. His team, coming off a 98-87 loss to Central Washington on Senior Night, has not lost two consecutive games this year.

Road warrior. A key contributor to the success so far has been Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.), and the point guard has been particularly prominent in road games. Most of Binetti’s vital statistics has risen on the road, where he’s averaging 19.5 points and shooting 55 percent from the field, 56 percent on threes and 86 percent from the foul line. In fact, when Binetti scores 20-plus away from home, SPU is 6-0 this season.

Talk softly, shoot strongly. A quiet guy off the court, Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) let’s his play do the talking. He leads the Falcons in season scoring (19.3) and is one of the premier three-point shooters in the nation. Yet Bremerman and his team seem to play their best when the trey is used to create space inside. In February he has erupted for three games on seven or more three-pointers, but in his first four 30-point games this season Bremerman drove to the hole. His twos outnumbered his treys 30 to 14 and he shot an average of 7.5 free throws. In the win over Western Washington, Bremerman made 7 of 8 three-pointers and scored 27 points. This month he has scored 23.7 points per game and made 55 percent of his treys.

20-20 vision. A 20-win season and a national ranking are nice. Sweeter still would be a GNAC crown and advancing beyond the first round of the NCAA tournament. Both have evaded the Falcons since 2001. Hironaka has now joined Les Habegger and Ken Bone as the only SPU coaches to produce back-to-back 20-win seasons, and his winning percentage of .654 (70-37) trails only Bone (.721). Western (11-3, 19-4) plays its final two home games this week before finishing with a pair in Alaska. Humboldt State and Central Washington are tied for third in the conference with 8-6 marks. Regionally, Cal State Bakersfield is poised to overtake Sonoma State for No. 3 after beating the Seawolves for the CCAA lead.

Sweet stroke. Hironaka has the finest shooting Falcon team in 17 years. SPU is No. 2 in NCAA field-goal percentage (.519), and is also among the national leaders in sinking shots from the foul line (.768, 6th) and three-point arc (.405, 12th). They have shot 50 percent or higher from the field 14 times, winning each of those games. They have lost the last three times they have slipped under 50 percent from the field.

Put-backs. Strangely, Seattle Pacific has lost five of its last seven Senior Nights, and the two wins were preceded by home losses...Seven times this season SPU has come from at least eight points down to win, including three on the road...Bremerman and Binetti are both within reach of the top 10 (1210) in career scoring, with 1155 and 1147 points, respectively...Drew Matzen (Jr., 6-4, Lynnwood, Wa./Bothell) delivered some memorable finishes touches last week, including some dunks which brought the crowds to their feet. His 12 points vs. Western matched his highest output since mid-December...Binetti has scored in double figures in all 24 games. He had seven steals last week...Bremerman has scored 30 points or more five times this season...The Falcons are only 4-4 when outscored in the second half and 4-3 when allowing opponents to shoot 50 percent or higher...Seattle Pacific is No. 1 in conference blocked shots (4.04) and overall shooting (.519). It’s No. 3 in field goal percentage defense (.458), scoring (86.2, 14th nationally), free throw percentage (.768) and three-point accuracy (.405). Individually, Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea-Bellevue CC) leads in blocked shots (2.04, 22nd in nation). Binetti is No. 2 in three-point accuracy (.511) and No. 4 in assists (5.2) and steals (2.0). Bremerman is third in three-point percentage (.477, 4th in NCAA) and sixth in scoring (19.3). Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) is fourth in field-goal percentage (.625)...Despite beating Western, Seattle Pacific dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in 12 weeks...The four three-pointers vs. Central was the lowest total in 18 games. The 27 personal fouls was the highest this season and the 39 free throw attempts by the Wildcats was the most by an opponent in more than five years and matched the most by a visitor in seven seasons.

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.