Northwest Notes

Grove tied for lead

after first round of Lilac

Russell Grove, assistant at Avondale Golf Club in Hayden Lake, is tied for the lead after the first round Thursday of the 50th Lilac City Invitational at The Fairways Golf Course at West Terrace.

Grove, former standout at Coeur d'Alene High and the University of Idaho, shot a 5-under-par 67 in the first round, and shares the lead with Shane Prante of Olympia, Wash.

The 72-hole tournament continues today and runs through Sunday.

Bayley qualifies for

national Big 'I' tournament

BOISE - Derek Bayley of Rathdrum finished second Thursday at the Big 'I' Classic Idaho qualifier at the Shadow Valley Golf Course.

Bayley shot a 2-under-par 142 (70-72) in the 36-hole event. Josh Gliege won with a 6-under 138 (70-68).

Both qualified for the national Big 'I' tournament Aug. 5-8 at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, N.C. Also, by his finish on Thursday, Bayley also clinched a spot on the Idaho team for the Hogan Cup matches Aug. 10-11 in Portland. Bayley played on the Washington team in last year's Hogan Cup matches.

Allison Duffin of Coeur d'Alene finished eighth in the girls tournament, shooting an 80-85-165. Sierra Harr won with a 2-over 146 (76-70), and Lou Points (78-71-149) was second.

Ehlo resigns as

EWU's assistant coach

CHENEY - After two seasons as an assistant coach for the Eastern Washington men's basketball program, Craig Ehlo has stepped down, head coach Jim Hayford announced.

Ehlo, who played two seasons at Washington State, and spent 14 seasons as an NBA player with Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta and Seattle, joined the coaching staff shortly after Hayford was hired in 2011.

Besides assisting with recruiting and on-floor coaching, Ehlo was EWU's primary coach handling individual player development.

"Craig is a wonderful person and it will be great to see him back on the TV doing broadcast work," Hayford said. "We owe a big thanks to Craig for all his contributions."

Ehlo played at Odessa Junior College in Texas, then concluded his collegiate playing career at WSU in Pullman.

He helped lead the 1982-83 Cougars to a 22-6 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Ehlo eventually returned to Washington State to earn his bachelor's degree in 1999.

His son, Austin Ehlo, attends EWU after playing football for two seasons at Whitworth. He was a walk-on receiver in the spring for the Eagle football team and is expected to rejoin the squad when classes resume in September.