The Warriors finally bested the Tigers by executing at the free-throw line, earning third place in the Hermann Tournament. But the 61-57 win meant shaking one of their most resilient oppositions of the season. Coach Eric Burle said his team played with a chip on its shoulder that had been missing in the previous two games of the tournament. "With the way the first and second games went for us in this tournament, we really weren't in sync and something was missing," said Burle. "It seemed like in this game we made it a point to buckle down on the defensive end. We got some big defensive stops and got some scores when we needed to." St. James had an answer for nearly every Warrior basket. In fact, the Tigers had Warrenton right where they wanted in the second quarter. Leading 19-17 after one quarter, St. James worked diligently to lure the Warriors' biggest post threats into foul trouble. Keith Terry and brother Kyle both each went into halftime with a pair of fouls and were limited to playing one at a time. Warrenton adjusted to the foul trouble, getting a solid offensive output from several athletes. St. James may have achieved an element of its game plan, but apparently was not aware of additional weapons in Warrenton's arsenal. Senior guard Andrew Laske dropped a game-high 21 points, keeping the Warriors alive from the outside. Ben Tappmeyer topped off one of his better offensive weeks, scoring 13. St. James exhibited balanced shooting as well, including precision from the outside. "We knew they had some shooters," said Burle. "They run about four guys on the floor that can shoot the outside shot. Early on we knew what they were going to do and didn't quite execute and hedge out on the screens." The Warriors worked to limit their opponents' three-point precision. St. James didn't back down. "We made some adjustments late in the second quarter and in the second half to take away the outside shot," said Burle. "It seemed like when we took that away, they were able to get some drives to the basket." The Warriors defensive stand toughened in the game's final moments. "We picked up some big charges late in the game and in the second half that really kind of gave us some momentum," said Burle. Warrenton led 46-42 heading into the final period. The Warriors allowed penetration on a couple of late possessions, permitting St. James to snatch the lead. Warrenton took over with 1:08 remaining, trailing by one. Laske pulled up from long range on a designed play and nailed a trey with 45 seconds left. "They had a little momentum down the stretch, and some of our guys had logged quite a few minutes in these three games," said Burle. "We gave up some baseline drives and drives to the basket that we wouldn't typically give up if we had rested legs. I think fatigue had a little bit to do with us giving up some easy buckets down the stretch."