Kamehameha's Mika Tafua and Iolani's Hugh Hogland battle for a position in the paint. Peter Caldwell | SL

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010214_1202_Kailua_F_017.JPG - Peter Caldwell | SL

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After a month of preseason games and tournaments, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular season gets underway this weekend with three Division I games Saturday.

The marquee matchup features a clash of top-five teams when Kamehameha visits Iolani that evening. The Warriors, ranked fifth in this week's ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, enters the contest with a 12-4 preseason mark, while the third-ranked Raiders put together a 10-4 record in the preseason.

Kamehameha is riding a seven-game winning streak that includes four wins in five days en route to the Merv Lopes Classic championship. The Warriors defeated Santa Margarita (Calif.)  Monday in the title game of the 16-team tournament, 40-35. They have won nine of their last 10 games since dropping three straight. One of those losses came at the hands of the Raiders, 62-48, back on Dec. 7 in the championship game of the Kailua Surfrider Holiday Classic.

Senior guard Noa Kinimaka leads Kamehameha in scoring with 12.7 points per game in 15 games played. He did not play against Iolani the first time around. Junior guard Jaycob Smith averages 9.9 points per game and senior post Alakai Freitas and sophomore guard Fatu Sua-Godinet contribute 7.2 points per game. Smith scored a team-high 16 points and Freitas added 11 against the Raiders in their preseason meeting.

The Warriors are averaging 53.9 points offensively per game against 48.1 points defensively under first-year coach Greg Tacon, who previously coached at Moanalua and Punahou.

Iolani opened the season with seven straight wins and won both the Surfrider Classic and an eight-team tournament hosted by Baldwin on Maui the following week. The Raiders dropped three straight games on consecutive days in the Iolani Classic to mainland teams, but have won three of their last four, including a 49-36 win over Saint Francis in the third-place game of the Merv Lopes Classic Monday.

Senior wings Zach Buscher and Ikaika Phillip are averaging 10.3 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Buscher's season-high of 20 points came against Kamehameha, when he made three 3-pointers and was 7 of 11 from the free-throw line. Chris Gallacher, who scored 13 in the same game, is averaging 6.8 points per game.

The Raiders are averaging 59.1 points offensively per game against 49.1 points defensively under fifth-year coach Dean Shimamoto.

Tip off is slated for 6:30 p.m. and will follow a girls' game between Kamehameha and Iolani at 5 p.m.

Other ILH Division I games Saturday feature No. 2 Maryknoll visiting Mid-Pacific at 5:30 p.m. and No. 1 Punahou hosting Saint Louis at 6 p.m.