Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Edgar Sosa missed a three-pointer and Terrence Williams couldn't find the basket on the rebound as time expired, and the Cincinnati Bearcats upset the Louisville Cardinals, 58-57, in the Big East opener for both schools at Freedom Hall.

John Williamson scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Bearcats (6-7, 1-0 Big East), who have won two straight after dropping the previous five contests.

Deonta Vaughn, who hit the go-ahead free throws for the final points of the game with 1:14 to play, also had 13 points for the Bearcats, as Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin defeated his former coaching boss, Rick Pitino. Cronin served as an associate head coach under Pitino from 1991-93.

Jerry Smith had a game-high 17 points and added six rebounds for the Cardinals (9-4, 0-1), who lost for the first time in their last five games. Louisville struggled from three-point range, making just 3-of-23 shots.

David Padgett, who saw his first action since fracturing his kneecap in the season opener on November 17, was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 13 points.

With the Cardinals down 58-57, Smith stole a pass from Vaughn and Pitino called a timeout with 4.8 seconds left. After the inbound pass, Sosa missed a three-pointer and Williams couldn't connect on the put-back and the Bearcats escaped with a victory.

The Cardinals and the Bearcats fought neck-in-neck for the better part of the first half. A Vaughn jumper put Cincinnati up 15-14 with 9:42 left in the half, but Louisville scored the next four.

However, Williamson sank a basket with 5:57 left that sparked a 10-1 Bearcat run. Williamson also capped the run with a jumper to increase Cincinnati's lead to 25-19 with 3:17 left to play in the half.

Marcus Sikes drained a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to give Cincinnati a 30-26 lead heading to the break.

Louisville came out strong in the second half and managed to knot the game up at 38 on a Palacios jumper with 15:33 to play. The senior forward put his team up two on a fastbreak layup just over a minute later.

Vaughn drained a three-pointer with 8:57 left that tied the score at 46. The sophomore guard then drained another trey with 7:11 remaining to put the Bearcats up 51-48.

Earl Clark tied the game for Louisville at 51 with 5:43 to play on a free throw and it remained tight down the stretch.