Yancy Gates finished with 16 points and nine rebounds as Cincinnati survived an early offensive onslaught to edge Villanova 82-78 Saturday.

Dion Dixon added 17 of his team-high 22 points in the first half for the Bearcats (14-4, 4-1 Big East), who have won four of their first five conference games for the first time since joining the Big East prior to the 2005-06 season.

Cincinnati won despite a huge day from Villanova’s Maalik Wayns, who notched his second career double-double with career highs in points (39) and rebounds (13) to go along with six assists.

Villanova (8-10, 1-5) entered the game as the worst shooting team in the conference, but rebounded from its season-worst effort against Syracuse on Wednesday by shooting 64 percent and scoring 45 points in the first half alone against the league’s top scoring defense.

Cincinnati, which committed a season-low three turnovers, forced 16 miscues and turned them into 19 points – including a 14-0 advantage in the second half – to eventually take a 76-71 lead with 2:09 remaining.

The Bearcats’ turnover advantage, along with forcing the Wildcats into 28.1 percent shooting in the second half, masked their sizable disadvantage on the boards, 41-26.

Despite seven final points from Wayns, the Bearcats hit six of their final eight free throws to hold on to the victory.