MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Adam Morrison impressed the fourth-ranked

Memphis Tigers with his ability to score.

That didn't stop them from shutting him down when it mattered

most.

Darius Washington scored 22 points and had 10 assists, and the

Tigers held the nation's leading scorer without a point in the

final 9:31 in holding off No. 8 Gonzaga 83-72 on Tuesday night.

Memphis coach John Calipari said Morrison knew he could score

with Tigers senior forward Rodney Carney guarding him in the post.

So he asked freshman Shawne Williams to guard Morrison despite

having three fouls.

"I said, `Look man, if we don't stop him right now, we are not

winning this game because he will go nuts,' and Shawne Williams

went in and stopped him," Calipari said.

Williams also had help from Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier

and Antonio Anderson in slowing down Morrison. It worked because

the preseason All-American didn't score again after his basket put

Gonzaga up 62-59 with 9:31 left.

Morrison said the Tigers collapsed on him and denied him good

looks at the basket. He also had his left thumb wrapped with tape

that wound around his wrist after jamming his finger in last week's

victory over Saint Louis, but he refused to use that as an excuse.

"I missed too many 8-footers in the lane, but part of it was

Memphis' defense," Morrison said.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few said reporters focus too much on

Morrison.

"He plays great all the time. He's got guys draped all over

him, and he still passes and shares the ball. We had opportunities.

We had point-blank post-ups we missed and wide open jump shots that

we missed," he said.

With the victory, Memphis (10-1) continued its best start since

1985-86, winning its seventh straight in the first game between a

pair of Top 10 teams involving the Tigers in Memphis since 1985-86.

The Tigers are the only ranked team in the revamped Conference

USA, a distinction Gonzaga (9-3) holds in the West Coast

Conference. Memphis will host No. 15 Texas on Monday.

Memphis snapped Gonzaga's five-game winning streak even though

Morrison finished with 34 points, including a perfect 12-of-12 at

the free throw line. It was the Bulldogs' worst loss since Nov. 27,

2004, when they lost 89-72 at Illinois.

Rodney Carney had 17 points for Memphis and Shawne Williams

added 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Tigers outshot Gonzaga

31-of-63 (49.2 percent) to 22-of-64 (34.4 percent).

"They've got a lot of answers, a lot of athleticism, a lot of

skill and they can hurt you in so many ways," Few said of the

Tigers. "We battled hard. We just didn't quite battle for a full

40."

Memphis, feeding off the emotion from a crowd of 18,208, took

the lead with an 8-2 run that was capped on Chris Douglas-Roberts'

three-point play with 7:25 left. It gave Memphis a 63-62 advantage,

the Tigers first since 1:10 was left in the first half.

Gonzaga last led 67-66 on a bucket inside by J.P. Batista with

5:13 to go. He was the only other Bulldog in double figures,

finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds.

The Tigers outscored Gonzaga 17-5 down the stretch with

Washington scoring nine of the final 12 points in the last 3:18.

Washington had missed the last game with a deep thigh bruise that

has bothered him for weeks.

The Tigers opened up sprinting up and down the court, and

Gonzaga was more than willing to keep pace in a physical game.

Gonzaga missed its first seven shots, while the Tigers seemingly

couldn't miss despite not having played in a week. But Gonzaga led

40-35 at halftime as the Bulldogs hit 14-of-17 at the free throw

line, compared to 0-of-2 for Memphis.

The Tigers jumped out to a 13-5 lead after a pair of buckets

from Washington and harassed Gonzaga into missing its first seven

shots. Morrison sunk a pair of free throws, but the Bulldogs didn't

score from the floor until Derek Raivio hit a 3-pointer with 15:35

to go.

Morrison scored his first bucket on a hook shot, starting a 6-0

spurt that got the Bulldogs going.

"That was a heck of a game," Calipari said. "I told their

coach, `Let's hope we are playing in April. Let's hope we are the

last two standing."