MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Winning a conference game on the road isn't easy, but it is even harder to lose a game while playing nearly perfectly.

That was where 21st-ranked Baylor found itself Wednesday night during an 82-72 victory over Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Bears hit all 18 of their free-throw attempts in the second half, and they were 29-for-30 for the game.

"Yeah, who missed?" joked coach Scott Drew after his Bears climbed tantalizing close to the Big 12 lead. Baylor (17-6, 7-4 Big 12) is one game behind the three-way tie atop the conference, a group that includes Oklahoma, Kansas and West Virginia. Texas is tied with Baylor, too.

"I loved the free-throw shooting," Drew continued. "That's pretty efficient."

The Bears kept Kansas State at bay throughout the second half. The Wildcats managed to cut the lead to five points on several occasions, but the Bears responded each time.

The key for Baylor besides free-throw shooting was potent long-range shooting. The Bears connected on seven of 13 from 3-point range.

"The players were really focused tonight," Drew said. "Coming off two straight losses, you really have to credit these guys. It started on the defensive end."

Baylor forward Al Freeman scored a game-high 21 points. Forward Taurean Prince had 18 points, and guard Lester Medford had 13, thanks largely to 11-for-11 accuracy from the free-throw line. Freeman got his points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the line. Prince was 6-for-8 and 4-for-4.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game, based on how the game went the last time," Freeman said. "We also knew it was going to be a game of runs, so when we went up, we knew they would try to come back and hit us with something."

Kansas State (14-10, 3-8) was coming off an impressive 80-69 win over then-No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday, the Wildcats' first win of the season against a ranked team. However, the Cats never could get much traction. They shot just 39.1 percent from the field overall, leaving coach Bruce Weber very frustrated.

"This is obviously a disappointing performance for our guys, who were obviously on top of the world Saturday night," he said. "We didn't deal with the success very well.

"We (talked) about getting ready for another Top 25 team. My whole theme was to come angry and show people that we are a good team, not just a one-time wonder."

Forward D.J. Johnson scored a career-high 19 points for Kansas State, and guard Justin Edwards also recorded 19 points. Forward Wesley Iwundu added 11.

The Bears were without forward Rico Gathers, who came into the game averaging a double-double but stayed in Waco with stomach illness. Now they can see the conference lead within their reach.

"Losing those two games was tough, but the Big 12 is so competitive you can lose any given night," Freeman said. "There are so many good teams, so many competitive teams, (you're) not going to make shots every single night. But a majority of our teams have a lot of dog in them. We still have the second half of the conference. We're just looking forward to the next game."

Baylor came out of the gate hot, grabbing a 19-8 lead at the second media timeout. The Bears shot 48.3 percent from the field in the first half, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range.

The Bears eventually led by as many as 14 points in the half before Kansas State reeled off seven straight points. The Wildcats got as close as three points on several occasions, but Baylor finished the half on an 8-2 run to take a 43-32 lead to halftime.

Baylor's active zone defense frustrated the Wildcats, holding them to 39.1 percent shooting from the field before the break and 12 turnovers. Kansas State kept the game in reach by hitting 14 of 15 free throws.

Baylor was led by Prince with 11 first-half points. Johnson had 10 points before intermission for Kansas State.

NOTES: Both teams have had all their losses against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. ... This is a closely contested rivalry. The teams have split 34 all-time meetings. Earlier this season, Baylor prevailed at home 79-72 in double overtime.