HOUSTON - Memphis point guard Darius Washington is used to opposing fans teasing him for his tearful reaction to the free throws he missed in last year's Conference USA championship.
On Saturday, Washington proved he can still make them when it matters most.
As hostile Rice fans chanted "Cry-baby! Cry-baby!" and waved tissues, Washington sank two free throws with 25.4 seconds left to help the third-ranked Tigers beat the Owls 84-79 for their 10th consecutive win.
"You make those shots and the fans have no say-so," Washington said. "And if there comes a point where I can do it, I'll do it. I still want to take those."
Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points and Rodney Carney added 13 for the Tigers (21-2, 7-0), who struggled, but stayed unbeaten in eight true road games.
"We're lucky to get out of here alive," said Memphis coach John Calipari.
Morris Almond scored 30 and J.R. Harrison added 20 for the Owls (9-11, 3-4), who have lost four of their last five.
But coach Willis Wilson was much more encouraged than he was after Rice's last game, a dismal 70-53 home loss to Tulane on Jan. 28.
"What we learned tonight was if we just do what we do, we can play with anybody," Wilson said.
The Tigers went 9-for-31 from 3-point range (29 percent) and struggled most of the game with the Owls' sticky zone defense. Memphis also committed 18 turnovers.
"If a team gets after us and becomes physical, that bothers us," Calipari said. "That's one of those things we have to get better at."
Memphis missed 11 of its first 18 shots and trailed 17-15 after Almond's free throws with 12:03 left in the opening half. Almond went 11-for-13 from the line in the game.
"I wanted to come out with a strong, concentrated effort," said Almond, who scored only seven points in the Tulane loss. "It's easy to come with high intensity when you're playing the No. 3 team in the nation."
Later in the first half, Washington missed a dunk, drawing jeers from the small, rowdy crowd.
"Fans are going to be fans," Washington said. "I don't let them get to me."
While the fans in the 5,000-seat arena might not have bothered the Tigers, the Owls certainly did.
The Tigers' first-half frustrations spilled over to Calipari, who got a technical for protesting a no-call on an apparent moving screen. Almond sank the resulting free throws, giving Rice a 31-30 lead with 5:47 left before the break.
Memphis closed the half with an 11-6 burst as the Owls committed three unforced turnovers during the run.
The Tigers scored on their first five second-half possessions and went up 58-46 after Douglas-Roberts' 3-pointer from the wing with 16:45 left.
The lead bulged to 15 before the Owls mounted one final surge. Dunks by Harrison and Patrick Britton started a 16-4 spurt and Harrison's turnaround with 2:04 left cut the Tigers' lead to 78-75.
The Tigers barely hung onto their lead by going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line during Rice's charge.
Shawne Williams sank two free throws with 1:51 left and neither team scored on tense possessions over the next minute.
Almond swished a jumper from the free-throw line with 32.9 seconds left to keep the Owls within three.
Washington then went to the line for the clinching shots.
