NEW YORK -- There was a downpour in Madison Square Garden last night.

Three-point shots were storming in from Vanderbilt's perimeter.

And all the while there was no umbrella big enough for the men's basketball team to find shelter under. As a result, the Lions (24-9) fell to Vanderbilt (20-14) in the first game of the NIT semifinal doubleheader, 75-62. St. Louis defeated New Mexico, 80-73, in the nightcap to earn a spot in the final.

Not even the surprise reappearance in the starting lineup of James Barnes, thought to be finished for the season with a broken toe, could help the Lions' cause.

"I really tip my hat to Vanderbilt," Coach Bruce Parkhill said. "They made it tough for us and did a good job on keeping us from doing the things we do best."

Not to say Penn State didn't try. Barnes controlled the opening tip, but the Commodores stole the ball before the Lions could get a shot off. Monroe Brown stole the ball right back, but a held ball was called and the Lions lost possession once more.

Then Scott Draud nailed a trey for the Commodores' first points of the game. The rest of the game progressed in much the same fashion.

Five of the Commodores' first six scores came from 3-point shots. For a time, the Lions' seemed to adjust their defense to the perimeter shooting, and kept the score close.

Penn State took the lead twice, both times off baskets by Ed Fogell. That second time, at 24-23 with 6:54 remaining in the first half, was also the last time the Lions led.

The Lions went to the locker room trailing 39-31, a deficit from which they would never recover.

"They played a little more man-to-man (defense) than they have in the past," Vanderbilt coach Eddie Fogler said. "I was surprised. Usually our bread and butter is man-to-man."

Beginning the second half, two new problems surfaced to dog the Lions. First, the Commodores shut down Fogell. Second, they began outrebounding Penn State more tenaciously.

Fogell canned a 15-foot jumper with 16:41 remaining in the game to end a three-minute scoring drought for the Lions and bring them to within 43-35.

Those were the last points Fogell scored. He fouled out of the game with 1:23 remaining, finishing with eight points in 37 minutes of playing time.

"We tried to keep the ball out of his hands," Vanderbilt center Eric Reid said. "Because we know he can do so many things with the ball once he gets it."

"They did do a good job on me," Fogell said. "Still, I'm not happy with my performance, either."

The Commodores also kept Fogell and the rest of his teammates from hitting the boards well, normally a strong characteristic of Penn State basketball.

This was only the fifth team to outrebound the Lions this year. The final rebound total was 35-27 in favor of Vanderbilt.

"They had a lot of second and third chance shots," Parkhill said. "We didn't see many. Vanderbilt was stronger, and was able to knock us around with that."

The Commodores made the most of their rebounding opportunities during the Lions' scoring droughts, but Penn State never thought about quitting.

They tried to string together several mini-runs throughout the game. From 15:57 to 14:30, they seemed to be making a comeback with an 8-2 run.

Freddie Barnes and Michael Jennings hit consecutive 3-pointers and James Barnes tipped in a Jennings' 3-point attempt, to make the score 48-43 Commodores.

But a comeback was not to be. The Lions started missing again and were soon down 62-43.

"I thought our zone was effective against them," Fogler said. "They are not a strong 3-point shooting team."

Still, the Lions are not finished for the season. They get one more shot to showcase their considerable talents against New Mexico in the NIT consolation game tomorrow night at 6:30.

"Personally, I can't really stand consolation games," Parkhill said. "But this gives us an opportunity to show that we can play. I hope our guys can get themselves motivated for it."