In fact, San Benito had three very tall starters, with one towering at 6-foot-8. The tallest Charger is only 6-foot-3, so it was pretty clear from the start who was going to dominate.

"We just can't match up to a team with that kind of height," said Leland coach Dave Frandsen.

San Benito jumped out to a commanding lead in the first quarter and just kept building on it throughout the game, coming away with a 77-39 victory. The Haybalers shot a sizzling 64 percent from the field while the Chargers had trouble putting the ball through the hoop, hitting only 30 percent.

Although outmatched in the height department, the Chargers put up a good fight on the boards and managed to grab 36 rebounds while San Benito came up with only 34.

Doug Proudfoot was the only Charger to reach double figures in the scoring department, tossing in 14 from his forward position. Iasias Asfaha put in six points. James Kogura, Kyle Yoshioka and Sam Lee added four each, David Farsai three and Matt Zuvella and Nate Cheung two apiece.

The Chargers were hoping to fare better in the second round when they came up against fellow Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division member Independence. However, there must have been some residual effects from the San Benito game and the Chargers "did not play very well," said Frandsen. "They are one of our league opponents and they saw us at our worst."

Independence took advantage of the off-night by the Chargers and claimed a 44-28 victory. Leland actually had a 14-13 lead at the end of a quarter but then went cold.

Proudfoot was once again the only Charger to reach double digits, tallying 11 points. The only other Chargers to put points on the board were Farsai with nine and Kogura and Asfaha with four each. The loss dropped the Chargers' season record to 1-6.

After facing four "A" level teams in their first seven games, the Chargers got a bit of a breather when they played Anzar of Salinas. It was apparent from the opening tip-off that Anzar was overmatched and the result was a 70-20 win for Leland to up its record to 2-6.

Farsai led all Chargers with 20 points. He got solid support from Asfaha, who tossed in 17 while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Danny Hamouie added nine points and Erich Wegscheider chipped in six. Cheung, Yoshioka and Lee each dumped in four. The balance of the scoring came from Kogura, Zuvella and Proudfoot with two each.

The Chargers went over the hill to take on San Lorenzo Valley in a hostile environment and met the challenge. "It was a good win for us," said Frandsen. "They're not a bad team. We built a lead, faced their surge and held on at the end."

Leland and San Lorenzo Valley fought evenly through the first half with Leland holding a slight 19-17 edge at the break. The Chargers extended that lead in the third quarter only to see SLV come back strong and almost overtake them in the end. The Chargers turned their intensity up a notch and fought off the surge to hang on for the 46-40 win.

"We turned a corner in that game by facing the pressure in a non-friendly setting and overcoming it," said Frandsen. "We also had a balanced scoring attack which was good to see."

That balanced attack resulted in no one reaching double figures for the Chargers. Farsai led the show with nine points.

The Chargers are sitting at 3-6 for the season and will face Santa Teresa at home on Dec. 30, then travel to Saratoga on Jan. 3 before starting Santa Teresa Division league play.