03/22/26 06:54:00
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03/22 18:52 CDT Dylan Darling hits driving layup at buzzer, St. John's beats
Kansas 67-65 in March Madness thriller
Dylan Darling hits driving layup at buzzer, St. John's beats Kansas 67-65 in
March Madness thriller
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) --- Dylan Darling hit a driving layup as time expired for his
only bucket of the game, and St. John's advanced to its first Sweet 16 since
1999 with a 67-65 victory over Kansas in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Darling, the Johnnies' tenacious point guard, coolly won it after Kansas
(24-11) erased a 58-45 deficit with 7 1/2 minutes to play, making a furious
20-7 run capped by Darryn Peterson's two free throws to tie it with 13.1
seconds left.
The Jayhawks had four fouls to give, and they used all four to wind the clock
down to 3.9 seconds. That was plenty of time for Darling, the Idaho State
transfer who had missed his four previous shots.
Darling got the ball up top and drove the lane for a shot that banked in as
time expired. His teammates tackled him in front of the St. John's band in
celebration.
Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins scored 18 points apiece for the fifth-seeded Red
Storm (30-6), who have roared back to college basketball prominence in just
three seasons under coach Rick Pitino.
St. John's advanced to face No. 1 overall seed Duke in the East Region
semifinals in Washington.
The 73-year-old Pitino and 63-year-old Bill Self coached against each other for
only the second time in the Hall of Famers' decades-long careers, meeting for
the first time in March Madness. They're two of the three active coaches with
multiple national titles, and now Pitino still has a chance to claim his third.
With Kansas transfer Ejiofor leading the way, St. John's has won 21 of its last
22 games since early January, capped by the Johnnies' second and third NCAA
Tournament victories in the past quarter-century this weekend.
St. John's won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles during its
surge, and this Red Storm haven't eased up a bit.
Peterson scored 21 points and Melvin Council Jr. had 15 points and nine
rebounds for the fourth-seeded Jayhawks, who still haven't returned to the
Sweet 16 since they claimed Self's second national title in 2022. After Kansas
ended Arizona's unbeaten season in a landmark victory on Feb. 9, the Jayhawks
subsequently lost six of their final 11 games.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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