The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-05
Montana's Basketball Year
Started Well, Ended Badly
Career of Bruins Marked by Misfortune, Beginning With
illegal Game Before Opening of Season
Next Year May Be Better.

4 season which began brilliantly but |
ended disastrously. was concluded i
Saturday night when the State Univer-
sity basketball auint lost the fourth
straight game of the state champion
ship series to the Aggies. Nissen's
crew started brilliantly, winning four
out Of the first five games but the day
that John Christian Bentz left the
lineup. the jinX descended on the camp
of the Bruins. and thereafter the team
was unable to win Il single game
though nine contests were played after
the giant center turned in his suit.
Never has coach been up against
as many difficulties at one time, as
Nissen has encountered during the
past basketball season. At the end of
the football season only McQuarrie,
Prescott and Dietrich of the 1916 squad
reported to the coach. Cummins, Dries.
Robertson and Sheridan, mainstays Of
the crack team of 1915. were lost. In
spite of this. however, the prospects
SeeHieu DTlSHt, DIS u hummer VI pTOlH-
Using candidates were out.
Stars Are Fined.
During the Christmas vacation a
team composed of Prescott. Ricketts,,
McQuarrie, Patterson, Dietrich, John
son and Newman, the pick of the bas-
ketball squad. participated in an un-
authorized game at Helena and on ac-
| count of this several of the best men
| bic to play during the first semester on
| account of scholastic troubles, and
when Whitman college came here
| early in January for the initial games
| Of the season. the coach was forced to
send IA pickup team which had prac-
was composed of Frank Johnson and
| Ritchey Newman. two Helena boys,
both of whom had been out of the
game for a year. at forwards; Chris
tian Bcntz. who had been with the
squad in 1915. but had never played
regularly, his honors being previously
confined to football and track. and
Captain Sanderson and Jones at the
guard positions.
In spite of lack of practice. the var
| sity started off well, winning one out
of two games from Whitman, due to
excellent basket shooting by Johnson.
! Newman and Sanderson. and the close
guarding of Bentz and Jones.
The University of idaho quint, really
q better team than the Bruins, was
defeated twice by close scores through
the desperate do die fighting spirit
displayed by the Bruins, who came
| from behind and won both games in
the closing minutes. Johnson's SEN
sational basket shooting was the fea-
ture of the first four games. while big
BentZ kept the ball away from the
danger zone by grabbing the bali out
of the air at all possible attitudes.
Bentz dropped out of the lineup just
before the game against the Oklahoma.
rangers and it was changed Bruin
quint which won by single point
from the rangers in the first game and
lost the second by six points.
Just couple of days before the
first game against the Aggies, Claude
lMcQuarrie, center of the 1916 varsity
team. was declared eligible, and went
to the pivot position on the Grizzly
team. The team faned to show even
fighting spirit in the opening game OF
the state championship series and was
overwhelmed, and though the boys
lmade "A better showing in the second
game they were at no time match
for Bennion's agile hoopsters.
During February the Bruins made q