HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -- The Shockers are back in the American Athletic Conference race.

No. 19/18 Wichita State ended No. 5/5 Cincinnati's nation-best 39-game home winning streak and notched its first true road win over an AP Top-5 opponent in 54 years with a 76-72 victory Sunday afternoon at Northern Kentucky University's BB&T Arena.

WSU (21-5, 11-3 American) moved to within a game of first-place Cincinnati (23-4, 12-2) with four games to play. The Bearcats make a return trip to Wichita for the March 4 season finale. The Shockers -- who are also tied with Houston for second place in the standings -- can guarantee at least a share of the conference regular season crown by winning out.

The Shockers' 76 points were the most allowed by the Bearcats this year in conference play. WSU's 52.3 percent shooting was a season high against a Cincinnati defense that came in ranked second nationally in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.

The Shockers improved to 7-2 this year in true road games and picked up their second road win over a nationally ranked team. They also defeated then-No. 16 Baylor in Waco in early in December.

The win was WSU's first over an AP Top-5 road opponent since defeating No. 3 Loyola Chicago in 1964 and just the fourth in school history. The Shockers also won at No. 3 Loyola in 1963 and defeated Oklahoma A&M in Stillwater during the 1954 Missouri Valley Conference season.

The loss was Cincinnati's first at home since December, 2015 against Temple. The Bearcats had won 23-straight league games and 39-in-a-row overall. Each of the last 19 home wins had come by double-figures.

Landry Shamet led the Shockers with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go with five assists. He was 3-of-6 from three. Shaquille Morris (13 points) and Austin Reaves (12) joined him in double-figures.

Jarron Cumberland paced the Bearcats with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Jacob Evans chipped in 16 points, and Gary Clark added 11 points and eight boards.

WSU takes on Tulane on Wednesday night. The 6:30 p.m. CT tip airs on CBS Sports Network.