Such was the case for the Leland boys basketball team. The Chargers made it to the CCS Division II playoffs this season, but No. 15 seed Leland (11-15) drew a tough first round match-up against No. 2 Mitty (19-8). The Chargers ended their CCS experience quickly, suffering a 68-44 Division II loss to Mitty.

"I was proud of our guys and the way they hung in there and did the best they could," coach Dave Frandsen said. "We played as good as we possibly could, but they were just bigger and deeper."

Leland jumped out to a 7-2 first-quarter lead before the Monarchs realized they had a game on their hands and started fighting back.

"We had a hard time getting into our offensive flow," Frandsen said. "They applied enough pressure to get us out of our game, and every time we would penetrate, their height would stop us."

The Chargers could not get untracked and Mitty eventually took control. The result was a 33-18 advantage for the Monarchs by the time intermission rolled around.

The Chargers did their best to fight back and hang with the stronger Mitty squad. They increased their offensive output in the second half but were unable to battle their way back.

Junior David Farsai connected on three from beyond the arc and totaled 20 points to lead the Chargers. Junior Philip Petro dumped in six while senior Logan Foos tossed in five points. Junior Mike Higashioka popped in four and junior Navdeep Rai bagged a three ball. Seniors Iasias Asfaha, Kyle Yoshioka and Danny Hamouie added two each to round out the scoring.

Although the visit to the playoffs was brief, it was a good experience to build upon for the Chargers. Leland finished in third place in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League at 9-5 behind Overfelt (13-1) and Evergreen Valley (11-3).

Leland loses only Asfaha, Yoshioka, Hamouie, Foos, Nathan Cheung and Arthur King Jr. to graduation. Farsai and Jimi Kogura top a list of nine juniors who will return for the Chargers next season.