Leilehua's Davon Newman and the Mules travels to take on Mililani's Isaac Chang and the Trojans Saturday night. CJ Caraang | SL

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Just one week remains in the Oahu Interscholastic Association boys basketball regular season and in the Division I West, there is much that remains to be sorted out.

A trio of undefeated teams sit atop the seven-team D1 West, with Leilehua (8-0) holding a one-half game lead on both Mililani (7-0) and No. 10 Kapolei (7-0).

The triumvirate — all of whom have already qualified for the 12-team league tournament — will face off against one another over the next week. The top two teams after the regular season will earn a first-round bye in OIAs.

"Our guys are looking forward to it," said Mules coach Chad Townsend, whose team visits Mililani Saturday night. "I think it's a good way to end the (regular) season. What better way than to have these types of games right before the playoffs?"

Townsend, a 2000 graduate of Mililani and son of the former Leilehua athletic director Richard Townsend, is in his first varsity season after serving as JV head coach for the last four years.

"It's been good. It's had its ups and downs — I'm not a very organized person, so I had some trouble getting real organized with the paperwork and all that stuff — but luckily I have my wife (Kim) and I have a lot of people here to help," said Townsend, a health and physical education teacher at Leilehua.

Townsend and the Mules seem to be reaping the benefits of a rigorous preseason schedule that included four tournaments.

"We have a lot of young guys so it was a pretty rough preseason for us because I scheduled a lot of tough teams. I wanted them to see what the varsity level was all about because a lot of these guys came up from JV with us and even the two varsity returnees I had never really had a lot of experience in games, so I think it was good for them to see that," Townsend said.

They went 6-9 over the course of the preseason, but it was four games in four days at the Punahou Invitational that has proven to be most beneficial.

Leilehua opened the tournament with a 58-47 win over Kalani, but lost 70-59 to Kalaheo the next day. It rebounded by holding off McKinley, 53-47, before coming up short against current-No. 1 Maryknoll, 53-43, on the final day of the tournament.

"How Maryknoll pulled out that game against us and was able to maintain that lead against us, that just showed our guys what level the top tier teams are at, but being able to go up and down and pressure an experienced Maryknoll team also showed them what that they're able to compete," Townsend said. "I think that whole tournament was real beneficial for us growing and we got to see what we really needed to work on right before the (regular) season.

The Mules feature a balanced offense with four players averaging double figures in scoring. The quartet of Zachary Gagnon (11.6 ppg), Logan Lassell (10.3 ppg), Davon Newman (10.1 ppg) and Raymond Moore (10.1 ppg) is made up of two juniors, one sophomore and a senior.

"On any night different guys can lead the team in scoring," Townsend said. "It's kind of by design. We always say that the style we play is real unselfish. We like to push the ball up court and we give them the freedom to shoot the ball, as long as its the right shot for them, so any night can be any guy's night."

One observer who has taken notice of the Mules' efficiency has been first-year Mililani coach Garrett Gabriel.

"They're a good team. They cause problems because they're very athletic and they all can shoot it, and even their bench is pretty good," Gabriel said. "They like to run, so we'll have to try and slow them down and they create a lot of turnovers, so we definitely have to take care of the ball and contest shots because they've got good perimeter players that can hit shots, so if you don't, it can be a long night."

Like their opponent Saturday night, the Trojans were also put through the fire in a rugged preseason portion of their schedule that saw them go 3-7, including a 1-4 mark against teams from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

"I wanted to play a lot of ILH teams in the preseason," said Gabriel, who had previous coaching stints at Radford and Maryknoll, his alma mater. "Now that we're at the end (of the regular season), we've got the teams that have been there before, so we just liked the way our schedule was set-up because we got a chance to find our identity and see what the other teams have, too, so we're happy with what we've done so far, but we also know that these games coming up will determine how we move on or where we're seeded."

Gabriel, whose son, Dillon, recently completed a decorated prep football career at Mililani that saw him graduate early as the state's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, has enjoyed his brief time with the Trojans' hoops program.

"It's actually been pretty good, and that's not anything to do with (win-loss) records," Gabriel said. "I like the kids that we have. I think for the most part they've bought in. They play with a lot of effort and they've got great attitudes, so that part I cannot complain at all; It's been fun coaching them this year."

Mililani averaged better than 65 points scored in each of its first four OIA West games, but Gabriel said a 47-44 win at Pearl City on Jan. 11 was the team's first true test.

"We came back in that game, we were down seven (points) with about two minutes-something left and we were playing without our best player (Ethan Rudometkin), but when the other guys came back and won, it proved that we can win without having somebody who we depend upon and I think that right there — plus we were on the road — but I think that game, when you look back at it, I think that could be a turning point that made a difference," Gabriel said.

Townsend calls this Mililani team "one of the more dangerous teams in the past years, talent-wise.

"A lot of their seniors they have now like (Dayvon) Appleby and Isaac Chang, I think they've matured into some pretty darn good ballplayers, and then you mix in some athletes like (Kanoe) Gibson and their jack-of-all-trades is Ethan. To me, he's probably the top player in the West," Townsend said of the 6-foot-3 Rudometkin. "He's a tough player and I know they've got a good ninth-grade point guard in Trey (Lieb), they've got guys that can drive like Appleby and Jace Pastel, so they're well-balanced and they've got shooters," Townsend said.

Gabriel acknowledged that Rudometkin is the key for his team.

"I think he's always the X-factor because he can dribble, he can shoot, he can pass, he can do a bunch of things and sometimes it causes mismatches if you have a big on him, or if the (defender) is too small, he can post up, and we have other guys that can play, but I think he's the key because he always has a mismatch on him with what he can do," Gabriel said.

While the Mules are coming off a 46-19 win over Waianae Wednesday night, the Trojans have not played since last Friday, when they posted a 47-37 win over Radford.

"I think our guys are prepared for this home stretch. I hope so," Gabriel said. "They're a very smart bunch. They understand; I don't have to cover things per and over, so I know they know where we stand — we haven't done anything as of yet — and they know how good Leilehua is. They know the type of game to expect and they know the type of kids that they have, plus it's kind of like a rivalry because we're so close (geographically) and in a lot of ways we're very similar, so it's going to be a good game. I foresee it going back and forth and the ones who can make plays at the end will probably come out victorious."

Tip-off between the Mules and host Trojans is scheduled for approximately 7 p.m. Saturday.