Cincinnati's Adam Hrycaniuk has a pass deflected by Pitt's Sam Young, right, and Tyrell Biggs, rear, in the first half of the Panthers' 73-67 victory Wednesday.

PITTSBURGH — A season that had contained great promise for Pittsburgh was on the verge of slipping away.

But the Panthers came back from a seven-point second-half deficit for a 73-67 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday that snapped a three-game losing streak and got the Panthers back on track for their seventh consecutive NCAA tournament bid.

"This is a big win for us," said Pitt point guard Levance Fields. "After losing three in a row for the first time, it's real good to finally get one and end the losing streak. We can build off this."

Sam Young had 20 points and DeJuan Blair had 18 and a game-high 10 rebounds as Pittsburgh (20-8, 8-7 Big East) avoided its first four-game losing streak in coach Jamie Dixon's five seasons and won its 20th game for the seventh consecutive season.

John Williamson tied a career high with 27 points and Deonta Vaughn had 24 for the Bearcats (13-14, 8-7).

The game featured seven ties and seven lead changes and neither team opened a lead of more than seven points. The game was tied at halftime, and Cincinnati opened the second half on an 11-4 run, forcing Dixon to call a timeout.

For a team that had been 11-0 and ranked as high as No. 6 nationally, a late-season four-game losing streak would have jeopardized NCAA tournament hopes.

"We knew from that timeout, if there's anything that's going to change here, it had to change now," said guard Keith Benjamin, who had 11 points. "There's no more waiting, no nothing. We just had to go out there and get it done from now on."

Pitt scored the next seven points, went on a 14-3 run and never trailed again.

"I don't think I said any bad words, but I might have," Dixon said of the timeout. "They got it going. They figured it out. They knew what they had to do. I thought we really made big plays in gut-check time, and that was the difference."

Pitt held a two-point lead late until Fields' 3-pointer with 54 seconds left made it a two-possession game.

The Panthers shot 52 percent in the second half and forced 17 turnovers while committing only six.

"They put a little pressure on us, and our guys didn't understand the heat Pitt was bringing at us," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "And then Sam Young stepped up and started putting the ball in the basket."

Dixon became the first Pitt coach to win 20 games five seasons in a row, and Panthers guard Ronald Ramon had nine points to eclipse 1,000 for his career.