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Home away from home. Go figure. Seattle Pacific University will play more games in Las Vegas before Christmas than Brougham Pavilion, and that includes this weekend’s Falcon Thanksgiving Classic. Fourth-ranked SPU (2-0) faces UC San Diego (0-2) in the first round of the tournament Friday afternoon (Nov. 24) on the UNLV campus. Saturday’s (Nov. 25) getaway game is against Cal State Dominguez Hills (0-0). Alabama’s Montevallo (3-1), the No. 2 team in NCAA Division II, plays the early game each day. Seattle Pacific’s third and final pre-Christmas home game is Dec. 2 versus BYU Hawaii.

So far, so good. After three exhibitions and a couple regular season outings, the Falcons are living up to their billing as a team to beat in the West Region. Following-up their preseason competitiveness against three D-I programs, they beat Cal State L.A. (85-67) and Cal Poly Pomona (84-71) at home to begin the regular season. That extended the non-conference in-region win streak to 11 games, dating back to the start of last season.

Will power. The promise of last spring has given way to the reality that center Rob Will (Jr., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O’Dea) is a figure to be reckoned with in the West. Will began his campaign by blocking a school, pavilion and Great Northwest Athletic Conference record nine shots in the win over CSLA. His near-perfect 13-for-16 shooting inside cinched the deal for GNAC co-player of the week and Sodexho Tip-Off Classic all-tournament team selection. Will finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds for the two games. He erased the old school record of eight blocks, set by Brannon Stone in 1998-99. Just two games into this second season, Will is now tied for No. 4 on the career list with 72.

Trey-J. His name rolls off the lips like none other on the roster, which is a good thing because courtside announcers are going to be calling his number frequently. Forward JoJay Jackson (Jr., 6-5, Fairfield, Ca. /Vallejo-Solano JC) introduced himself to the SPU fans with a pair of solid showings at the Sodexho. Jackson did a little of everything, leading the squad in rebounds (14), hitting 5 of 9 three-pointers and driving hard to the hole when needed. He hit four treys and had 17 first-half points vs. Cal Poly Pomona and joined Will on the all-tourney team. Jackson averaged 15.0 points and shot 59 percent from the field.

Movin’ on up. With his next successful shot Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) will rise to No. 7 in career scoring at Seattle Pacific. Bremerman, who had averaged 27.0 points in the preseason, drew plenty of attention from the defenses and was content with getting 19 looks (making 11) in the first two games. He scored a total of 27 points to move up from No. 9 on the SPU rolls. With 34 points this weekend, Bremerman will pass both Gregg Kingma (1979-83) and Dave Wortman (1958-62), currently standing seventh and sixth.

On target. Head Coach Jeff Hironaka got a very balanced effort from his team, particularly on offense, where five players totaled at least 24 points over two games. Those players all shot the ball extremely well, and altogether, the Falcons made 55 percent from the floor, including 58 percent against CSLA. Sixth man Rob Diederichs (Fr., 6-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) gave the club a big lift, averaging 14.5 points in 18.0 minutes per game and also diffusing defensive pressure with his passing. Like Jackson, Drew Matzen (Sr., 6-4, Bothell, Wa./Lynnwood) was deadly from outside the arc, making 5-8 treys. SPU has now won 21 straight games when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.

Going deep. Depth is a virtue which will need to pay immediate dividends because Hironaka lost starting point guard Jared Moultrie (Sr., 6-2, West Point, Ut./Clearfield/Salt Lake CC) to a knee injury late in the opener. Brian Lynch (Sr., 6-1, Missoula, Mt./Great Falls) assumed that role after passing for five assists (only one turnover) versus CSLA and saw 31 minutes of floor time versus Cal Poly. Marques Echols (Jr., 6-2, Seattle, Wa./ Garfield-Peninsula) shared duties at both guard spots, contributed five assists and played 28 minutes.

Signed & sealed. The Falcons received a pair of early commitments from recruits last week. Bellevue Christian forward Jeff Downs and Chauncey Campanaro of JSerra Catholic in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., signed national letters of intent. Downs, a 6-foot-4 forward, led his team to the state 1A championship, averaging 20.8 points in the tournament. The 6-6 Campanaro averaged 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds as a junior.

Put-backs. The Falcons return to the McDermott Center at UNLV in three weeks for the High Desert Classic, Dec. 15-16. They do not play a true road game until Dec. 12 at Cal State San Bernardino...SPU is 10-4 at the McDermott facility, dating back to 1997-98, and has won four in a row there over the least two seasons...Seattle Pacific has won 28 of 30 home games over three seasons. It is 5-0 in home openers under Hironaka...San Diego State, which edged SPU by three points in the final preseason game, has started 5-0, including a win over California...Central Washington, the GNAC preseason favorite, lost its first two games. Alaska Anchorage, picked third, began 4-0...Brandon Larrieu (Fr., 5-10, Puyallup, Wa./Franklin Pierce) made his collegiate debut a memorable one, coming off the bench for seven points in 15 minutes vs. CSLA...Still not 100 percent while recovering from a preseason ankle injury, Casey Reed (So., 6-5, Canby, Or./Canby-Navy) played some backup center, along with Filip Popovic (Jr., 6-7, Montenegro, Serbia/Skyline CC)...Redshirt Adam Wardell (Fr., 6-2, Sedro Woolley, Wa.) saw limited time at the point.

SPU Coaches. 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. Hironaka broke new ground again in 2006, as his team reached the Final Four, winning both GNAC and regional titles, and he was voted the West Region Coach of the Year. His record entering this season is 76-39.

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.