SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Mar. 21) – All season, they have gotten the jump on the opposition. For Seattle Pacific University, hopefully it’s a habit which has followed them across the country.

The Falcons have a chance to become the first member of the NCAA Division II men’s basketball final four when they open quarterfinal play Wednesday (Mar. 22) against Alabama’s Montevallo.

The Falcons traveling party poses at center court of the Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Mass. Photo by Frank MacDonald

It’s the opening game of the Elite Eight in the MassMutual Center, with tip-off at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The victor will face either Southern Illinois-Edwardsville or defending champion Virginia Union in the semifinal round Thursday.

“Those first few minutes may tell whether our key guys are on their ‘A’ games,” said SPU coach Jeff Hironaka. “If they get some decent looks early and hit them, our confidence will grow.”

Dustin Bremerman (Jr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) and Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) form the strongest 1-2 punch in team history, averaging 18.4 and 18.2 points, respectively. Together, they have made 143 treys, shooting over 47 percent outside the arc.

“A year ago, we were the first game in the regional and came out tight,” said Hironaka. “This year, we’ve played several early games and done very well. Obviously we hope that trend continues.”

Tenth-ranked Seattle Pacific has excelled as a frontrunner, winning each of the 20 games it has led at halftime. It was the first team to wrap-up an Elite Eight berth and the first team to arrive in town following a red-eye flight Saturday night. In traveling 2,970 miles, SPU nearly doubled the distance of the next most distant team.

“Sunday’s practice was not very good because we hadn’t gotten any sleep,” Hironaka said. “Hopefully our bodies have now adjusted to the time difference.”

This is the Falcons’ third trip to the Elite Eight and the first since 2000. Montevallo (29-4) is making its first visit after being stopped in the South regional championship game the past two seasons.

Just as SPU has primary options on offense. Montevallo features a three-pronged attack. Greg Brown, James Hall and Marcus Kennedy account for two-thirds of the team’s points. Hall made the Basketball Times All-America team while Binetti was chosen to the NABC All-America squad.

Both teams must “pick their poison,” according to Hironaka. “You can take away the threes, but that leaves space inside. Leave the shooters open, and both teams can shoot it.”

Seattle Pacific confounded teams at the West Regional. With opponents concentrating on stopping the perimeter game, sophomore center Robbie Will was a one-man wrecking crew, averaging 18.0 points and shooting 68 percent.

Wednesday’s game and all of Seattle Pacific’s Elite Eight contests will be heard live on the Internet via Broadcastmonsters.com. Thursday’s semifinals will be televised live on CSTV and the championship game will be aired live on CBS.