The Aggies had little trouble with the Trojans, winning 76-44 Thursday night in the Smith Spectrum to remain unbeaten in the Gossner Classic at 23-0. It took Little Rock nearly the entire second half to match Utah State's halftime total of 41.

At the half, Aggie forward Nate Harris had as many points as the Trojans - 17.

"They started undersized in the paint and we took advantage of it," said Harris, who scored 23 points in 23 minutes. "It was good to get a rest and give some of the other guys minutes."

Harris' output, and that of his teammates, especially Jaycee Carroll, was the direct result of a suffocating defense that quickly turned missed shots and turnovers into points.

"We looked like we have a chance defensively," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "We had pressure on defense, pressure on the boards. We have to play better in those areas if we want to compete in the WAC."

Morrill liked the Aggies' 38-23 rebounding edge, as well as the Trojans' 38-percent shooting. "

But he really appreciated Carroll's improving game. The sophomore guard finished with 21 points, but it was his seven rebounds, a career-high eight assists and only two turnovers that caught Morrill's attention.

"I told Jaycee that I'm hard on him, and I am hard on him, because we want him to be more than just a scorer," Morrill said.

Carroll's length-of-the-court dribble-and-drive, concluding on a pin-point pass to Harris, set the tone for the first half. Carroll benefitted from the up-tempo first half by racing past the Trojan defense to score 14 points and collect five assists. USU forward Chaz Spicer added 10 points.

USU was in such complete control of UALR that Morrill was able to give his bench, including Nick Hammer and Nate Bendall, quality court time.

Hammer, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward who had played a year at Dixie State before a two-year LDS Church mission, had been on the shelf this season with a broken finger.

"Bendall did a good job," Harris said, admitting that it is difficult to bring the same energy level to an undersized opponent. "You have to find a way."

Utah State faces Binghamton (3-8) in the Gossner Classic finale at 8 p.m. The Bearcats opened the tournament by defeating Idaho State 59-46. The Bengals (7-3) and Trojans meet in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.

Arkansas-Little Rock (6-5), a step slower than USU, did not have much more than Rash Jones-Jennings, who had 13 of his team's 17 first-half points. USU's experienced post players, mostly Harris and Cass Matheus, made the Trojans' 6-foot-5 forward work for every point.

"They're a very athletic team," Trojan coach Steve Shields said. "When you look at a guy like Jaycee Carroll - his motor runs nonstop. He gets from point A to point B faster than anyone we've played so far."

While Jones-Jennings toiled in the paint, his teammates had poor luck from the outside, as they had problems adjusting to USU's switching defenses. The Trojans shot 33 percent from the field in the first half - and this included Jennings' 6-for-12 shooting - and didn't improve much in the second.

UTAH ST. 76, ARK.-LITTLE ROCK 44

ARK.-LITTLE ROCK (6-5) - Eggins 1-4 1-2 3, Malone 2-5 0-0 4, Jones-Jennings 8-16 1-2 17, Muldrow 3-10 1-2 8, Harding 0-2 0-0 0, Wright 4-9 0-0 9, Razz 0-0 0-0 0, Thornton 0-0 0-0 0, Ray 0-1 0-2 0, Nichols 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 19-50 4-10 44.

UTAH STATE (7-3) - Harris 11-13 0-3 23, Peterson 3-7 2-3 9, Matheus 1-2 0-0 2, Pak 3-4 0-1 8, Carroll 7-13 4-4 21, Session 0-0 0-0 0, Huber 0-2 1-2 1, Hammer 0-3 0-0 0, Spicer 4-6 2-2 10, Bendall 1-3 0-2 2. Totals 30-53 9-17 76.

Halftime-Utah State 41-17. Three-Point Goals-Ark.-Little Rock 2-11 (Wright 1-3, Muldrow 1-4, Malone 0-1, Eggins 0-1, Nichols 0-2), Utah St. 7-13 (Carroll 3-6, Pak 2-2, Harris 1-1, Peterson 1-1, Huber 0-1, Hammer 0-2). Fouled Out-Malone. Rebounds-Ark.-Little Rock 23 (Jones-Jennings 9), Utah St. 38 (Carroll, Harris 7). Assists-Ark.-Little Rock 9 (Eggins, Muldrow, Wright 2), Utah St. 21 (Carroll 8). Total Fouls-Ark.-Little Rock 18, Utah St. 13. A-8,217.

Binghamton vs. Utah State

At Smith Spectrum, Logan

Tipoff: 8 p.m.

Radio: 1280 AM/98.3 FM

Records: BU 3-8; USU 7-3

Series: First meeting

About the Bearcats: Andre Heard averages 15.3 points and 4.9 rebounds. Provo native and senior guard Schafer Jackson comes off the bench.

About the Aggies: Utah State will play its 500th game in the Smith Spectrum, where the Aggies are 397-102. USU is 23-0 all-time in the Gossner Classic.

Utah State 76,

Arkansas-Little Rock 44

* Nate Harris scored 23 points in 23 minutes for Utah State.

* Jaycee Carroll totaled 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Aggies.

* Utah State is 23-0 all-time in the Gossner Classic.