Cincinnati was not especially sharp offensively, but the 18th-ranked Bearcats bounced back from their first loss in two months with a 68-54 victory over South Florida in an American Athletic Conference game Wednesday night at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.

Kevin Johnson scored 14 points for Cincinnati (23-3, 12-1 AAC), which had won 15 in a row before falling to then-No. 25 SMU on Sunday.

Gary Clark recorded his sixth double-double of the season for the Bearcats, posting 13 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Kyle Washington added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Geno Thorpe scored 19 points despite making just 4 of 13 field-goal attempts for South Florida (7-18, 1-13), which snapped a 12-game losing streak with a win over East Carolina on Saturday. Forward Tulio Da Silva grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulls.

"Give USF some credit," Johnson told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "They did come out and played very tough. Very physical team, big and athletic, so it was hard for us to really pull away. We just had to match their intensity."

USF kept the game close as both teams struggled to get their offenses going early in the opening half. The Bulls tied the game on a 3-pointer by Troy Holston and trailed by two following a layup by Da Silva with just over eight minutes remaining in the half.

Eventually, Cincinnati took control. A layup by Washington and a 3-pointer by Johnson sparked a 9-0 run that gave the Bearcats a 25-14 lead.

The Bulls got within six on a basket by Ruben Guerrero in the final minute of the half, but Clark's layup at the buzzer sent the Bearcats to the locker room with a 30-22 advantage.

Cincinnati re-established a double-digit lead early in the second half. The Bearcats went up by 11 on a three-point play by Clark, stretched the lead to 14 on a basket by Washington and went ahead 41-24 on a 3-pointer by Troy Caupain.

"I thought they made some nice adjustments in the second half," interim USF coach Murry Bartow told The Daily Stampede. "They picked us apart a little bit."

The Bearcats led by 19 before the Bulls battled back to cut the deficit to 13 on a layup by Thorpe. Cincinnati quickly pushed the lead back to 18 following baskets by Jarron Cumberland and Washington. The Bearcats led by as many as 24 in the final minutes.

"We liked the tempo that we had in the first half," Thorpe told The Daily Stampede. "You know, we didn't really do a good job of sustaining that."

Cincinnati recorded 13 steals and eight blocked shots but did not shoot the ball particularly well. The Bearcats shot 42.4 percent from the field, made 6 of 18 from 3-point range and converted just 12 of 20 free-throw opportunities.

Caupain, the AAC Preseason Co-Player of the Year, finished with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. He was 2 of 19 from field and 1 of 12 from long distance in the two previous games.

USF shot 36.7 percent from the field and made 6 of 15 from 3-point range. The Bulls outrebounded the Bearcats 38-35 but committed 21 turnovers.

NOTES: Cincinnati improved to 31-8 all-time against South Florida with its eighth consecutive victory in the series. ... Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin is now one win away from his 300th career victory. ... USF was seeking its first victory over a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 19 Louisville 58-51 on Feb. 29, 2012. ... USF is one of four Division I teams with no seniors.