Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; St. John’s Crimson Storm guard Dylan Darling (0) shoots the game-winning shot towards the Kansas Jayhawks within the second half throughout a second spherical sport of the lads’s 2026 NCAA Match at Viejas Area. Obligatory Credit score: Kirby Lee-Imagn Pictures
Hemingway’s nice work might have some tweaking as a result of the bell now tolls for Dylan Darling.
The junior guard has hit one of the crucial well-known pictures in St. John’s historical past, as his driving layup on the buzzer lifted the No. 5 Crimson Storm over No. 4 Kansas within the second spherical of the NCAA Match and into the Candy 16 for the primary time since 1999.
And to suppose, he didn’t even see it occur.
“The ball left my arms, and I hit the bottom, and I didn’t even see the ball go in,” Darling stated. “I simply heard everyone going loopy, and everyone was leaping round. It was fairly cool, although. Fairly cool.”
He was actually due for that second. He had not hit a shot all night time, however after Kansas tied the sport up at 65 apiece with free throws — after which determined to foul St. John’s till there have been 4 seconds left on the clock — Darling implored that head coach Rick Pitino name his quantity.
“Bells comes as much as me and says, ‘Run energy,’ which is a excessive, back-screen pick-and-roll. So I stroll away, and I stated, ‘Wait a second, he hasn’t scored a bucket, and he desires to run a play for himself?’” Pitino recounted. “However he’s Bells, and never solely did he do it, he went together with his proper hand.”
Pitino penned that “Bells” nickname for Darling on Feb. 7 after he hit a game-winning three-pointer to defeat Xavier on the street in Cincinnati, telling reporters postgame that “he’s bought balls as massive as church bells.”
“Actually, there actually wasn’t time for nothing else,” Darling stated. “The ball was at half-court, I feel Oziyah [Sellers] and Joson [Sanon] have been in. I advised them to go to the corners. And the play is simply Zuby [Ejiofor] units a lat ball display on the prime of the 3-point line. I figured if any individual helped off the corners, I might throw it to the nook. Or in the event that they heped off Zuby, I’d throw it to Zuby. I ended up going proper, I noticed the lane, and I simply went for it.”
“Actual pleased with him as a result of to need the ball whenever you haven’t made a shot is unbelievable,” Pitino added. “… I’m so completely happy for St. John’s and the followers. We had nice followers out right here.”
The playing cards are actually stacked towards the Johnnies at this NCAA Match. Regardless of being within the East Area because the No. 5 seed, which is shocking in itself provided that they have been Huge East regular-season and event champions who completed the season by going 19-1, they needed to play their first two video games out in San Diego.
Now they journey to Washington, D.C. for the Candy 16 towards the area’s No. 1 seed, Duke.
“I’m so jubilant, so completely happy for the fellas,” Pitino stated. “We’ve taken one other step now. So it’s simply superior… It’s simply beginning, the enjoyable is simply beginning.”
For extra on Dylan Darling and St. John’s, go to AMNY.com
