At first, he was the closer. Then, he became ‘Church Bells’. Now, it doesn’t matter what you want to call Dylan Darling after how he salted away St. John’s Big East Championship over UConn.
The game, and the tournament, had not gone his away offensively.
Darling was 1-for-11 from the floor entering the championship game and started 1-for-7 against the Huskies but he didn’t flinch.
“He didn't have it his way at all during the game, Rick Pitino said after the 72-52 victory. “I said to him, ‘Take it easy, Steph [Curry]. Take it easy, Steph.’ Because he's trying to just go one-on-one.”
UConn was within ten, 59-49, with under seven minutes to go. The Huskies had just missed four straight shots on one possession, and it was Darling’s time to go to the basket. His layup pushed the lead to 12 points and started a 13-0 run to put the game away in which he scored the opening six points.
After his layup, he made two free throws and a jumper in the paint that extended the advantage to 16 points with under five minutes to go.
“It’s awesome,” he said on the court during the Red Storm’s celebration of his stretch late in the game. “Coaches told me to keep shooting. He believed in me, he has confidence in me, told me to keep shooting and down the stretch they just went in.”
Despite the early shooting woes, Darling manufactured five assists, three steals, and no turnovers.
“I was just playing, I wasn’t really thinking. I’m just happy to have an impact on the game,” he explained.
Dylan Darling has emerged as the starting point guard for the Red Storm down the stretch of the season and keyed not only its six-game winning streak but its ability to let others shine like Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, and Dillon Mitchell.
It culminated against the Huskies.
“Growing up as a basketball player, you can’t ask for anything more than this,” Darling added. “Madison Square Garden, Saturday night, Big East Championship, UConn, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
But it just might get better as he will play in his first NCAA Tournament next week and be the focal point of the Red Storm’s offense that has surged into the Top 50 of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency.