Hugh Hogland and the top-ranked Raiders will meet Captain Whitlock and the fifth-ranked Mustangs at the Buffanblu's Hemmeter Fieldhouse on the first day of the 16-team tournament Saturday. ScoringLive photo illustration

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The last time that Iolani and Kalaheo met on the hardwood, it was for the Division I state championship back in February.

This time around the circumstances are just a bit different.

The Raiders (7-3) and Mustangs (9-2) will face off in opening round of the Punahou Invitational Saturday. Tip off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the Buffanblu's Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Iolani enters the game atop the Hawaiian Electric/ScoringLive Boys Basketball Power Rankings. It has yet to lose to an in-state opponent; all three losses came against mainland foes in last week's Iolani Prep Classic.

"I think everything is still a work in progress," Raiders coach Dean Shimamoto said. "I think we have a lot of potential, but every time we go into a new season, guys step into new roles. Guys that weren't on varsity are now on the varsity, guys who didn't play last year are now going to have to be role players, role players have to become starters and starters into leaders, so pretty much every guy is in a new position this year."

A trio of All-Hawaii honorable mention selections from a year ago in guards Robby Mann, Zach Gelacio and post Hugh Hogland will be looked to lead the team this year.

"We know that we have a strong scoring threat inside (in Hogland), so we want to try and make sure that should teams really make an effort to take Hugh away, we can hit shots from the outside, we can score in transition, we can get some baskets out of our sets and maybe a few from our defense," Shimamoto said. "We're trying our best to be really balanced."

Hogland, a 6-foot-9 junior, is averaging 14 points per game and has scored in double digits in six games this year, including a season-high 20 points in a win over Moanalua on Dec. 11. He was named to the Iolani Classic all-tournament team.

Meanwhile, Kalaheo is facing some adversity with injuries to a several key players.

Guard Kekai Smith (knee) is out and forward Jonah Howard (ankle) is doubtful to play against the Raiders Saturday, or in the tournament at all, according to Mustangs coach Rob Pardini.

"Kekai first hurt the knee last postseason and played on it in spring and summer ball, so it's something that has been ongoing and he's getting some work done on it," Pardini said. "Jonah's been battling trying to get back, but he's definitely not 100 percent. He can't do what he does best, which is up get and down the floor and get off the ground. It's been very frustrating for him. He has had to adjust his game to his physical limitations. It's game by game, day by day, but he's taking time to heal and working with the trainers to get that ankle back to 100 percent."

Kalaheo went 2-1 in its own Pete Smith Classic — named after its former longtime coach who won 14 Oahu Interscholastic Association titles during his tenure — falling to Saint Louis in the title game, 63-60, last Saturday. Its only other loss was against Lahainaluna (35-34) on Dec. 10.

"The preseason has exposed us to areas that we need to improve upon and areas that we're doing well but can always get better at," Pardini said. "We've been working on some situational things and trying to learn from it in practice and through our game experience. We've had 11 preseason games at this point and we've had two or three tight games we had to figure out what our situation is and what do we need to do, which has been real helpful for us, especially with us starting three young guys and having virtually no experience coming back from last year's championship team."

Junior guard Captain Whitlock, a reserve player last season, is averaging 16.6 points per game. He scored 25 points, including four 3-pointers, in a 22-point win over Radford and 32 points the following night in a 10-point win over University.

"He's got a high basketball IQ for a young guy," Pardini said of Whitlock. "He got some time last year with the championship team and so he's a very special player and has a great feel for the game. I've changed things up from prior years a little bit and he's picked it up very quickly and done a great job, so he's doing extremely well. I think he's going to have a good mid and rest of season."

The Raiders and Mustangs meet in the third of eight opening-round games Saturday. Other ranked teams in the 16-team field include No. 2 Kaiser, No. 6 Kamehameha, No. 8 Maryknoll, No. 10 Kahuku and tournament-host, No. 3 Punahou.

The tournament will take Sunday off before resuming with the quarterfinals Monday. The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday.