Box Score By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Baylor needed two overtime periods to get it done, but the 13th-ranked Bears rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit to knock off Kansas State, 79-72, and take over sole possession of first place in the Big 12 for the first time in 18 years.
Scoreless in regulation, sophomore guard Al Freeman scored 11 points in the two overtimes and helped the Bears (15-3, 5-1) win their fifth straight and record-tying 15th in a row at the Ferrell Center.
"When I got that first layup, I felt like a light was shining or something," Freeman said. "Honestly, the first 40 minutes I was just struggling, but I was really happy with how my teammates were playing. Even though I was struggling, they were able to put the ball in the hole and they were able to get the stops."
With sixth-ranked West Virginia getting upset at home by Texas, 56-49, Baylor takes a one-game lead in the Big 12 standings over top-ranked Oklahoma, No. 3 Kansas, the Mountaineers and West Virginia. The only other time the Bears had sole possession of first place was when they got off to a 5-0 start in 1998.
"I know there's a long way to go," Drew said. "The big thing is just getting better each and every day, so we give ourselves a chance to be successful toward the end of the season and post season.
Our guys are in this position because they've fought hard, they've competed and won five straight in the Big 12, which not many teams do."
Kansas State (11-7, 1-5) has been on the other end, losing their second double-overtime game and sixth to a ranked team.
"We've been in there in a lot of the games, we just haven't found a way to win," K-State coach Bruce Weber said. "My heart goes out to our kids, and I hope they stick with it. We have to stay persistent, good things will happen."
The Wildcats came out on fire and led by as many as 10 in the first half, when freshman guard Kamau Stokes drained an open 3-pointer that made it 34-24.
But in the closing minutes of the first half, Baylor was able to whittle it down to a six-point deficit with buckets by Terry Maston and Lester Medford.
"Getting it down to a manageable two-possession game, that was very important," Drew said. "Plus, you get some momentum going into the half."
K-State was still up by six about four minutes into the second half, when Justin Edwards got a back-door dunk off a dish from Stokes.
But the Bears got five straight stops and reeled off 11 unanswered points, going up 46-41 on a three-point play by Maston off a steal and assist from Medford, who finished with nine points, 13 assists and three steals in 45 minutes.
"I think it was great leadership by guys like Rico, Lester, Ish (Wainright), myself, guys who have been here three or four years," said Prince, who had his seventh career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, "knowing that we've been there before and came back twice when we were don1 by 10. We knew we had to get stops in order to get going."
K-State went back up on a layup by Stokes with 7:58 left and led by as many as four down the stretch. But in the closing minute, Johnathan Motley hit a layup off a feed from Medford to put the Bears back in front, 58-57.
Taurean Prince made one of two free throws with 6.3 seconds left, but Stokes nailed a pair with 5.8 showing on the clock after being fouled by Medford on the inbounds play.
Medford, who hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Saturday's 63-60 win at Texas Tech, had a similar chance at the end of regulation when his jumper in the lane rimmed out.
"It was a good look," he said. "It kind of teased me a little bit when it hit the back of the rim and came out."
Freeman ended his scoring drought with a layup off the tip and scored all seven of Baylor's points in the first overtime, capped by a 3-pointer with 38.5 seconds left that gave the Bears a 66-64 lead.
Wesley Iwundu, who had 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, rebounded a missed baseline jumper by Stokes and hit the game-tying layup with eight seconds left. Baylor had a chance again, but Freeman missed a short jumper in the lane as the buzzer sounded.
Medford canned a pair of free throws to open the second overtime, followed by a driving layup by Freeman as the Bears never trailed again. After matching three-point plays by Baylor's Rico Gathers and the Wildcats' Dean Wade, Medford dished to Motley for another layup and a 75-70 lead with 2:40 left.
Barry Brown knocked down a jumper to get K-State back within three, but the Wildcats turned it over twice and missed their last two shots as Baylor escaped with the seven-point win and remained unbeaten at home this season.
"A game like this, there's a lot to learn from," Drew said, "but you would rather be teaching from a win than a loss."
Motley finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards, while Gathers had 11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Stokes had a game-high 20 points for K-State, while D.J. Johnson had 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Bears will try to break the Ferrell Center record with a 16th consecutive home victory when they host No. 1 Oklahoma (15-2, 4-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
