STILLWATER, Okla. -- Baylor nearly wasted 36 minutes of suffocating defence.

In the end, the sixth-ranked Bears held off Oklahoma State 72-69 on Wednesday night.

Baylor led by 13 points with 4:13 to play, but Oklahoma State's pressure defence made it a game. The Cowboys could have taken the lead in the final minute, but Baylor's Jo Lual-Acuil blocked Jawun Evans' layup. After Baylor's Manu Lecomte made two free throws with 14 seconds to play, Oklahoma State had one more chance to tie. Evans missed a 3, then Phil Forte, who hit the game-winner against Oklahoma and made critical shots down the stretch in the win over West Virginia, missed a 3 as time expired.

"Any time you get a win in the Big 12, it's usually one possession, and it's usually earned, and we were blessed tonight that we were able to walk away with the win," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

The Cowboys struggled to score until they forced four turnovers in a 63-second span to spark a 12-0 run.

"I think we got our energy back at the end, getting stops, picking up full court, which got us back to what we used to do and they weren't ready for it," Evans said. "But sadly, we just came up short."

Johnathan Motley had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Bears (21-3, 8-3 Big 12), who had lost their previous two games. Baylor trails conference leader Kansas by one game.

Jeffrey Carroll scored 20 points and Evans added 16 for the Cowboys (15-9, 4-7). Oklahoma State had won five straight and was coming off an 82-75 win at then-No. 7 West Virginia.

"Oklahoma State was playing really good basketball," Motley said. "It feels good to get a win like this, especially after coming after a losing streak. This was a really good one for us, for sure."