John Flowers and Joe Mazzulla scored 16 points apiece, and West Virginia rode a 20-5 second-half spurt to beat host Cincinnati 66-55 Saturday night.

The Mountaineers (14-6, 5-3 Big East) used only seven players for the second straight game following the indefinite suspension of leading scorer Casey Mitchell and departure of reserve Danny Jennings before Wednesday's 55-54 loss at Louisville.

In a matchup between two of the league's top three scoring defenses, West Virginia shot 24 of 30 from the foul line to deal the Bearcats (18-4, 5-4) their first loss in 14 games at home, where they had been holding opponents to 58.9 points.

After five straight points from Dion Dixon gave Cincinnati a 23-17 lead with 6 minutes to go in the first half, the Mountaineers went on a 16-4 run for a 33-27 halftime advantage. West Virginia's hot 12-for-23 first-half shooting was a marked turnaround from its 19-for-55 overall effort against the Cardinals.

Cincinnati's Cashmere Wright, who had a game-high 24 points, netted 10 points in the first 4:36 of the second half to give the Bearcats a 38-37 lead, but West Virginia responded with its big run to take command at 57-43 with 5:17 to play.