With a limited number of personnel and a maximum number of games over a short period, Coach Mike Uffmann was prepared to ask a lot from his underclassmen.Coming off consecutive losses, Warrenton desperately needed a strong finish at the Hermann Tournament on Saturday.It was a struggle in the early going, but the top-seeded Warriors managed to hold off No. 7 Owensville 53-40 in the third-place contest.“I don’t remember the last time we’ve played in this tournament and been on the winners’ side,” said Uffmann.It was in 2009, before Uffmann joined the district, when Warrenton last played for third place.“Any time you can go 2-1 in a tournament, that’s a good tournament in our eyes,” he added.It was the Warriors’ second third-place finish of the season — a mark they also achieved in their own tournament in early January.“It felt good to get third place for the second time this year,” said senior Alec Tonioli. “It’s been rough the past few years with being on the other side.”This time the Warriors dressed just seven players, meaning getting the most out of each contributor.“We needed to use our time-outs wisely too, if we ever needed a breather,” said Uffmann. “Especially since we played a 1-3-1, which we knew would get our guards moving an awful lot.”The Dutchmen tested Warrenton early, with senior guard Drew Garner knocking down four first-quarter treys. It was post versus perimeter for a while, allowing Owensville to push out to an early lead, before the Warriors scored the final nine points of the first quarter.“Garner is a great shooter, and we knew that coming into it,” said Uffmann. “He got some open looks, but once we kind of shut him down and contained him, things became a little bit easier for us.”Warrenton led 17-12 after one quarter and would never again trail, despite a scoring drought in the second period.The Warriors used an inside advantage to clean up 27 defensive boards and gain a 26-23 halftime edge.A dominant 15-4 run in the third quarter provided the security Uffmann’s team needed to improve to 11-9 on the season.Warrenton got significant contributions from a pair of freshmen, who are seeing increasing minutes and responsibility.“It started off with Randy getting three steals in a row off that 1-3-1, and those are big-time plays for a freshman,” said Uffmann. “That converted over to some layups and easy points. Once we got those points, we started calming down a little bit.”Senior Craig Vardiman scored a team-best 15 points and had 10 rebounds.“Our rebounding has been good all season,” said Uffmann. “But it’s gotten better lately, and it’s a lot more balanced. It used to Craig getting 15-20 boards a night, but now the younger guys are really chipping in.”On Saturday, they were critical, as three underclassmen combined for 25 points and 24 rebounds.Freshman Caleb Strauss led the Warriors with 12 rebounds, scoring eight points along with McRoberts.“The young guys have been stepping up and playing big minutes with the number of guys we have,” said Tonioli. “They have found their roles and contributed where we’ve needed them to.”Sophomore Trevor Alberternst netted nine points and grabbed eight boards.“They did a great job, especially with three games in three days,” said Uffmann. “I thought that could be a factor with them tiring as well, but they powered through it. They wanted to get the win. It didn’t matter how tired they were, they just kept fighting.”WARRIORS FINISH THIRDDerrick Forsythe photo.