WACO, Texas -- Baylor guard Lester Medford took matters into his own hands to finally boost the Bears past pesky Kansas State.

Medford drove into the lane and hit a jump shot with 38 seconds left in double-overtime, giving 13th-ranked Baylor a five-point edge, the separation it needed to outlast the Wildcats, 79-72, on Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center.

And when Baylor looked up at the end, it was alone atop the Big 12 standings. Texas' win at West Virginia meant that Baylor (15-3, 5-1 Big 12) was the only one-loss team left in the conference.

"It's a long way to go, so obviously you're more concerned with the end than you are than you are with the middle or the beginning," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "Again, we're just beginning the conference race. The big thing is getting better."

Still, Drew couldn't deny the momentum his team gains by grasping a double-overtime win for its fifth-straight Big 12 victory.

"At the end of the day, a game like this, there's a lot to learn from," Drew said. "But you'd rather be teaching from a win rather than a loss."

Forward Taurean Prince scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Bears, while forward Johnathan Motley came off the bench for 15 points.

Baylor guard Al Freeman scored all 10 of his points in extra time.

"I think that just shows how deep our team is, how many contributors that we have," Freeman said. "I was trying to be the first team to score in overtime to set the tone."

Guard Kamau Stokes scored 20 to lead Kansas State (11-7, 1-5).

Kansas State now has four losses in Big 12 play against opponents ranked 19th or higher. But Stokes said the Wildcats aren't getting rattled.

"It's a long season," Stokes said. "We've got a lot of games left. It's about working in practice to get better."

Baylor had a two-point lead with 5.8 seconds remaining in regulation. But Medford fouled Stokes before the in-bounds pass was made. Stokes hit two free throws to tie the game at 59.

Medford took an off-balance shot from the free-throw-line extended at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim and the game went to overtime.

Kansas State guard Wesley Iwundu got a rebound with 12 seconds left in the first overtime and made a jumper to tie the first extra period at 66.

Baylor's Freeman missed a jump shot from the free throw line to send the game to a second overtime.

Baylor went from seven down to a five-point lead with a momentum-building 14-2 run midway through the second half.

Prince hit a 3-pointer and went to the basket for a layup in transition to propel Baylor's hot streak. Forward Terry Maston capped the run with a three-point play that gave Baylor a 46-41 lead with 11:03 left.

But Kansas State shook off almost five scoreless minutes when forward D.J. Johnson made a layup and Iwundu hit a pair of technical-foul free throws at the 10:37 mark of the second half.

Kansas State used a 10-2 run to grab a lead midway through the first half.

Johnson made back-to-back baskets in the paint to finish the surge and put Kansas State ahead 26-17 with 6:55 remaining before halftime.

"I thought we played as good in the first half as we have all year," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. "Thirteen assists on 14 field goals, and I thought our defense was really good. Little bit of screw ups down the stretch in the first half. We had our chances."

Prince responded with a layup and a 3-pointer as the Bears kept Kansas State from running away.

But the Wildcats still led 34-28 at halftime on the strength of 47 percent shooting, including hitting three of four 3-pointers. Stokes paced Kansas State with eight points in the first 20 minutes.

Kansas State out-rebounded Baylor 18-11 in the first half, and the Bears struggled from the free-throw line, hitting just four of nine before the break.

NOTES: Baylor reserve forward Terry Maston entered Wednesday's game averaging 7.5 points per game, but has increased his contribution of late. Maston scored in double digits in Baylor's three games leading in to the Kansas State game, including a career-high 17 last week against TCU. ... Kansas State's lone Big 12 win entering Wednesday's game came at home against Texas Tech last week when the Wildcats hit a season-high 10 3-pointers. ... Baylor forward Rico Gathers was on a three-game drought without a double-double entering Wednesday's game. Gathers, who is second in Baylor history with 31 double-doubles, last reached double figures in scoring and rebounding on Jan. 5 when he had 17 points and 17 rebounds in a win over Oklahoma State.