The Front Row: Path toward redemption

BAYLOR MARATHON: It wasn’t on television, so I can only speculate, but I have a feeling that the 12,234 people at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, and the fine folks at Baylor University won’t forget Wednesday night’s five-overtime thriller anytime soon.

This 116-110 victory takes on special meaning for the Bears, when you consider where this program stood in 2003.

Former coach Dave Bliss presided over one of the most horrifying scandals in NCAA history. Between the murder of former player Patrick Dennehy, the subsequent cover-up attempt, rampant drug use, recruiting violations and the lies to prosecutors, it appeared as if Baylor’s basketball program would never have a chance to recover.

Today, the Bears stand at 16-2 under head coach Scott Drew, who has revamped the program’s recruiting and has established Baylor as one of the pleasant surprises in the Bgi 12 this season.

The five-overtime marathon win over a top-25 team symbolized much more than a gutsy victory in enemy territory. It’s significance went beyond the Big 12 standings.

This win was an emphatic statement of redemption.

Baylor will never fully recover from what happened in 2003, but for one glorious night, Baylor basketball was in the headlines for all of the right reasons.

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QUOTABLE: “I’m tired.” — Baylor guard Curtis Jerrells after his 36-point, 53-minute effort in the Bears’ five-overtime win at Texas A&M. Jerrells has every right to be exhausted, but I’m sure his career-defining victory will help him recover quickly.

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