PREPS : Sitting on the Top of the Bay : Basketball: After a convincing victory over Hawthorne, Inglewood leads the Bay League with 3-0 record.

Art Bias says he knew it was time to return to coaching when he began leading cheers at his son’s basketball games. Tim Bias, a sophomore, plays for Damien High in La Verne.

“I was in the stands yelling and screaming,” Bias said. “I finally said to myself, ‘Hey, if you’re going to do all that, you need to be on the court again.’ ”

So after a three-year hiatus, Bias returned this season to coach Inglewood High, the team he guided to five league titles and a CIF championship game appearance in seven seasons from 1981-87.

So far, the second time around has proved to be just as sweet.

Inglewood moved into sole possession of first place in the Bay League this week, improving to 3-0 Friday night with a convincing 56-47 road victory over Hawthorne, which was coming off an upset over league favorite Leuzinger.

With a 10-8 overall record, the Sentinels have already surpassed their win total from last season, when they were 6-18 and placed last in the Bay League.

“I think we’ve got something going,” Bias said. “We’re focused in the proper way now. We had a pretty tough (nonleague) season. We lost to some good teams. We played well enough to win those games, but we found a way to lose. Now we’re beginning to find ways to win.”

Inglewood has been impressive in its three league games, winning by margins of 23 (76-53 over Santa Monica), 22 (70-48 over Culver City) and nine. And the Sentinels have done it with a balanced lineup that boasts no stars but several players who know their roles and work together.

The team’s improvement seems to have helped regenerate the enthusiasm of fans, many of whom became disgruntled last season because of distractions that grew from a stormy relationship between former coach Vince Combs and former principal Lawrence Freeman. Combs was fired by Freeman after the 1989-90 season.

Inglewood brought a boisterous support group to Friday night’s game at Hawthorne. And they had plenty to cheer about, especially late in the third quarter when the Sentinels took a 40-26 lead on a three-point shot by reserve guard Shawn Holly.

But Hawthorne give up. The Cougars cut the deficit to 50-46 with 1:49 remaining on two free throws by forward Chris Augustus. Inglewood regained control by scoring six unanswered points, five by reserve forward Marcell Scott, to secure the victory.

Hawthorne Coach Richard Wells complained his team was still celebrating Wednesday night’s 71-63 upset over Leuzinger when it took the court Friday. The Cougars dropped to 7-10 and 1-2.

“I think we were still kind of dazed from Wednesday night,” Wells said. “I could see it when I walked into the gym. (The players) were not here. They finally woke up about halfway through the third quarter.”

Wells, however, gave Inglewood credit.

“They have a small group, but they’re playing together and they’re playing hard,” he said. “They look like they accept the roles that Art has laid out for them. They’ll do well playing like that.”

Guards Jason Bowman and Michael Stith are generally regarded as Inglewood’s best players. But on this night they weren’t much of a factor, combining for only nine points. Instead, point guard Codi Evans and junior forward Jimmy Britt led the way. Evans scored a game-high 16 points and created offensive opportunities with aggressive drives to the basket, while the muscular Britt scored 10 points and dominated on the boards.

“We have a lot of people that play well and have roles,” Bias said. “Jimmy (Britt) is coming along real well. And if we can get Codi (Evans) to be consistent, that’s going to help.

“The thing you have to realize is that only three of these guys (Bowman, Stith and Britt) were on the varsity last year. So we just tried to start from scratch during the summer and say, ‘Hey, we didn’t have anything to do with (last season).’ I think the kids have a good attitude toward that. They’re looking ahead.”

On the near horizon for Inglewood is Friday’s meeting with Leuzinger (10-3, 2-1), which has a height advantage with 6-foot-8 Frank Willis and 6-5 Tyrone Merriweather.

Bias isn’t worried, though. Inglewood beat Leuzinger during the summer and has fared well against tall teams.

Could it be that Bias is headed for another league title, which would give him six in eight seasons at Inglewood?

“We hope so,” he said. “We’re 3-0 and gaining momentum. I said at the beginning that this is going to be a very close league; everybody is going to be knocking each other off. So we’re elated to be 3-0 at this stage.”

One of the keys to Inglewood’s season will be the development of center Lee Thomas, a 6-7 senior who is playing his first year of varsity basketball.

Thomas scored only three points Friday, but his presence in the middle can present problems for teams.

“I think Lee is an underrated player,” Bias said. “He’s just learning the game, but defensively he does a lot for us because he makes players alter their shots. He’s just not confident yet.”

Friday’s scheduled Southern-Pacific Conference basketball game between Washington and San Pedro was postponed because of the gang-related shooting of a Washington student Thursday at the Athens-area school.

Richard Earvin, a 17-year-old junior, was listed in grave condition Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital. Earvin was shot four times by suspected gang members.

The postponement ended a week of confusion surrounding the game, which was scheduled to be played at Washington. However, Washington’s gym is unavailable because of construction of a new gym being built adjacent to the old facility. The game has not been rescheduled.

Narbonne Coach Bob Hoppes, whose team competes in the same conference, said the shooting creates an unfortunate situation for Washington, one the City’s best teams.

“It puts a bad rap on a lot of good kids,” Hoppes said. “I talked to a bus driver (Friday) on the crime rate and gang problems. It just doesn’t seem like anyone can get a handle on it. . . . It’s extremely tragic.”

Miraleste’s basketball team continued to prove it can hold its own in the Camino Real League by defeating visiting Verbum Dei, 54-52, Friday night.

Scott August made two free throws with four seconds left to account for the winning points, helping the Marauders improve to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.

It was the second impressive league victory for Miraleste under first-year Coach John Quick. Last week the Marauders beat another traditional Camino Real power, St. Monica, 51-50.

This is Miraleste’s first year in the competitive league. The school was initially worried about making the change, but has done surprisingly well, in the same way apprehensive El Segundo excelled in the league last year.

Point guard Frank White, son of former Harbor College Coach Jim White, had 13 points, seven assists and five steals for Miraleste.

The upset of the week came Friday night at Centennial, where North Torrance knocked off the first-place Apaches, 66-52, in a Pioneer League game.

Forward Sean Roberts made three three-point shots during a 25-9 North run in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 25 points. It was the first league victory for the Saxons (5-10, 1-1) and first-year Coach John Fowler.

Centennial, ranked No. 10 in CIF-Southern Section Division III, dropped to 2-1 in league play and into a first-place tie with Torrance (10-6, 2-1).

Game of the week: Mira Costa will visit Morningside at 7:30 Wednesday night with first place in the Ocean League basketball race on the line. Mira Costa (13-5, 2-0) defeated Rolling Hills, 73-68, Friday night behind 25 points, 20 rebounds and six blocked shots from 6-8 center Chris Davis, while Morningside (16-2, 3-0) routed visiting Redondo, 112-76.