Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Buffalo
Rams fall short in Rainbow Classic championship game
12/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2008
HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Buffalo Bulls posted a 67-53 win over Colorado State on Tuesday night in the championship game of the 2008 Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.
It marked the second consecutive runner-up finish for the Rams in the tournament, who also finished second in their last appearance in the Classic in 2005.
"After the first half, we were just ineffective scoring the basketball," said Head Coach Tim Miles. "After our three pointers ran dry, we didn't get it inside and we didn't make the plays we need to make to be successful."
The Rams hit a season-high tying nine three-pointers, including 8 in the first half, but it wasn't enough to knock off the Bulls (8-4) who outrebounded the Rams 42-31.
Marcus Walker scored a team-high 12 points and averaged 18.0 points per game in the tournament. Walker was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts.
CSU (5-9), playing its third game in four days, knocked off Hawaii (6-3) and Vermont (7-3) to advance to the title game.
Buffalo used a 13-3 run midway through the second half to take a 62-49 lead with 3:45 remaining and took control of the game for good.
The Rams opened the game scoring with 8 straight points to take an 8-0 lead before extending their lead to 11-2. Buffalo would tie the game on five occasions in the first half, including a 34-34 tie at halftime, but would never gain control of the lead.
The Rams will next be in action when they open Mountain West Conference play at TCU (8-5, 0-0 MWC) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MST.
