Cashmere Wright scored 20 points and Cincinnati snapped out of its recent slump by leading from start to finish in a 63-54 victory over No. 16 Louisville Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Bearcats (20-6, 7-6 Big East), who lost six of their last 10 games to fall to 10th place in the Big East, notched a huge win that will help build on their potential NCAA Tournament at-large resume.

Louisville (19-7, 8-5 Big East) missed six of its first seven shots and never recovered, trailing 36-24 at halftime and by as many as 15 in the second half.

Louisville cut the deficit to 43-38 midway through the second half, but the Bearcats responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to 12 and were not threatened the rest of the way.

Sean Kilpatrick came off the bench to add 18 points for Cincinnati, while struggling forward Yancy Gates, who was booed by the hometown fans late in Sunday’s loss to St. John’s, responded with a strong game. He tallied eight points and six rebounds while coming off the bench.

Terrence Jennings led Louisville with 12 points, while guard Peyton Siva, the Cardinals’ second leading scorer, fouled out late and was held to just eight points after going scoreless in the first half.