Manhattan ? Just four days after blowing a 16-point lead in a loss to Oklahoma, Kansas State appeared on the verge of another second-half collapse.

But Clent Stewart knocked down his only three-point attempt to end Baylor’s comeback bid, and after squandering an 18-point lead, the Wildcats hung on for an 80-69 victory Wednesday night.

“I was getting a couple of flashbacks,” Lance Harris said. “I was just telling everybody to knock down free throws and we’ll be all right.”

Jeremiah Massey led the Wildcats with 24 points, but it was Stewart’s three-pointer after Baylor closed within 60-58 with 4:42 to go that gave Kansas State some breathing room.

“He’s not a very good three-point shooter,” Wildcats coach Jim Wooldridge said, “but he was able to get it down. He’s not afraid to take that shot.”

Kansas State (14-10, 4-9 Big 12) then made 13-of-14 free throws in the waning minutes to pull away.

Patrick Fields scored a career-high 22 points for Baylor, which lost its 10th in a row. Tim Bush added 18 points but had six turnovers.

“We played with a lot of resiliency,” said Wooldridge, whose team snapped its own six-game losing streak. “We dug ourselves a hole tonight and we had some tough times to get through.”

But it was Baylor (9-15, 1-12) that dug the hole early in the second half, going nearly five minutes without a field goal. Kansas State went on a 14-1 run and built a 50-32 lead with 15:56 to go.

“K-State came out with a great deal of energy and sense of urgency,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

The Wildcats then got sloppy, allowing the Bears to slowly creep back. Freshman Aaron Bruce, who had 20 points for Baylor, knocked down a jump shot and followed it up with a three-pointer to get within 57-49 with under 10 minutes to go.

By the time Bruce curled in another jump shot with six minutes to go, Baylor had closed to 59-56.

“We got a little careless at times,” Wooldridge said.

But unlike Saturday, when Oklahoma hit the game-winner with no time left to complete the comeback, Kansas State didn’t give Baylor a chance.

It stuck in the back of my mind for a while,” Harris said of the 69-68 loss. “But that’s what is good about the Big 12. You get to come back out and play another game.”