No last-second drama needed this time.

After winning its first two games in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic on buzzer-beaters, Buffalo blew past Colorado State 67-53 last night to capture the tournament championship at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Classic's 45-year run as an eight-team event ended with the Bulls (8-4) claiming the trophy after hoisting coach Reggie Witherspoon on their shoulders.

“;There were so many guys who gave us so much effort,”; Witherspoon said. “;We really got contributions from guys off the bench. It was a total team effort.”;

Buffalo guard Rodney Pierce led the effort last night with a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds.

Bulls guard Andy Robinson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds in the final.

Buffalo won its first two tournament games on last-second shots, edging Pepperdine in overtime on Sunday and beating Colorado in the semifinals on Monday.

The Bulls trailed by 11 less than 4 minutes into the game, but came back to tie it at halftime and pulled away in the final 8 minutes.

“;We went to a smaller, quicker lineup,”; Witherspoon said. “;They came out and out-quicked us for a while and we were down 13-2. We've had to make that adjustment in the past and we had enough versatility to pull it off.

“;Our defense got better and stronger as the game went along.”;

Colorado State (5-9), which took off right after the game to catch a late-night flight back to mainland, lost in the Rainbow Classic final for the second time in four years. Marcus Walker led the Rams with 12 points.

Those among of the crowd of 2,611 who stuck around after Hawaii's win in the consolation final were treated to a streaky first half that ended with the teams knotted at 34.

Colorado State hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and held leads of 11 and nine points only to see the Bulls answer both times.

After Colorado State took a 34-25 lead at the 5:25 mark of the first half, Buffalo outscored the Rams 15-2 in a run bridging halftime. The Bulls claimed their first lead at 36-34 on a Titus Robinson dunk on the opening possession of the second half.

Colorado State, which went 1-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half, trailed 49-46 when Buffalo took off on a 14-3 run ignited by back-to-back 3-pointers by Robinson and Calvin Betts and the Bulls cruised to victory.

“;Really, we were just living off 3s early,”; Colorado State coach Tim Miles said. “;We weren't really running anything that well, but we were making 3's. That's just living on the edge. When that ran out, we weren't doing anything else.

“;We tried to make some adjustments (at halftime) but we never consistently did anything so that's a credit to Buffalo and their defense.”;