When Al Freeman drilled a 3-pointer with 4:11 to play, the Bears pushed ahead 55-53. But the shots mostly dried up for Baylor thereafter, while Kansas produced some of the most timely baskets of the night.

Specifically, Wayne Selden — Kansas’ second-leading scorer entering the game — delivered a dunk off an inbounds play coming out of a timeout with 1:27 to play and a shot clock-beating finger roll about a minute later.

Before those two buckets, Selden had scored just two points.

It was that kind of ending for the Bears, who felt as though they let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers.

“I was proud of how we competed and played for about 36 minutes, and then I wish we could do that last four minutes over again,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “I don’t think we executed as well as we’d like. We didn’t rebound as well as we’d like down the stretch.

“But I think we’ve seen marked improvement from the first time we played them. There are no moral victories, but I like how we’re headed in the right direction. We just need to keep building off of it.”