BRONX, N.Y. – Despite a nightmarish travel schedule due to a snowstorm that swept across Southwest and Midwest, NM State was down just one basket to Vanderbilt late in the game but eventually fell, 71-45, in its Fordham Holiday Classic opener at Rose Hill Gym on Tuesday.
 
"I think we had a lot of chances and missed a lot of layups," head coach Mark Trakh said. "They're a very, very good team and 71 points is a lot to give up for us."
 
The Aggies (9-3) started the game off with a quick 5-0 run, but finished the game shooting just .347 from the floor.
 
Three-straight buckets from Vanderbilt's (10-2) Marqu'es Webb, who finished with a game-high 17 points, knotted things up at eight before free-throws from Abby Scott and William made it 10-8 in favor of NM State.
 
VU then went on a 13-0 run that was finally snapped by Moriah Mack, who scored on a layup followed by a 3-pointer.
 
Three-straight jumpers from Freeman and Sasha Weber brought the Aggies within 29-21 heading into the break despite shooting just 30.8-percent from the floor to Vanderbilt's 65-percent.
 
NM State got within 32-27 after Davis and Weber knocked down back-to-back threes to start the second half. Then, an 8-footer from Freeman coupled with a deep three from Scott brought NM State within 34-32 at the 4:07 mark of the third frame. That would be the closest NM State got within VU the entire second half.
 
The fatigue from the long travel schedule finally showed in the fourth quarter when NM State was outscored 24-8.
 
Weber paced the Aggies on Tuesday, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Mack chipped in with nine points while Freeman added eight.
 
Vanderbilt was hot from the floor, shooting 61.2-percent from the floor and dominated NM State on the glass, 40-19.
 
When asked if the miserable travel schedule to get to New York had an impact on today's game, Trakh said that it definitely made it difficult, especially in the fourth quarter.
 
"Our kids are resilient, they're good kids, they work hard and will bounce back tomorrow to try and get our 10th win," Trakh said. "That's what we have to remember. We took a tough loss tonight and we can be 10-3 on our way home. We just need to regroup, go to shoot-around tomorrow, get our legs under ourselves and prepare for a very athletic Texas A&M Corpus Christi team."
 
The Aggies will look for their 10th win of the season on Wednesday when they take on the Islanders at 11 a.m. (MT) in the final game of the Fordham Holiday Classic.
 
POSTGAME NOTES: Weber's 11 points made it 40-straight games for NM State with at least one player in double-figures…William's six steals was a new career-high for the junior…Tuesday's game was the first loss on a neutral floor for NM State since December of 2014 when the Aggies fell to Pacific, 67-62, at the Beach Classic…NM State is now 7-2 when winning the tip…Aggies also move to 1-2 when opponents score 70-79 points…the 24 points in the fourth quarter for Vanderbilt tied for the most points given up by the Aggies in a quarter this year…last time NM State gave up 24 in a quarter was to Sacramento State earlier this year in the first quarter…the Commodores came into Tuesday's game with a +10.0 rebounding margin over opponents and out-rebounded NM State 40-19… The VU bench scored 66-percent of the team's total, tallying 47 of the 71 points.