A closer is emerging for the St. John’s basketball team.
His theme song isn’t Enter Sandman or Narco and he doesn’t stand over 6-foot tall, but he’s got the heart of a lion.
Dylan Darling has been everything the Red Storm needed and more over the last two victories, coming up with clutch plays down the stretch.
Against Seton Hall it was a steal and layup that pushed the lead to five points in the closing minutes but on Saturday against Xavier in Cincinnati he was even more impressive.
“He’s got balls as big as church bells,” Rick Pitino said. “It’s unbelievable…He’s not afraid to take over and that’s the sign of a great point guard.”
After Zuby Ejiofor fouled out with 1:12 left and Filip Borovicanin gave the Musketeers its first lead since the 7:11 mark of the second half on an old fashioned three-point play, Darling stepped up to hit the shot of the game.
The Idaho State transfer was left alone beyond the 3-point arc – from NBA range – and let it fly. It was nothing but net, giving St. John’s an 84-82 advantage with 52.3 seconds left as it would not relinquish the lead en route to the 88-83 win.
“He’s won us two games in a row now,” Dillon Mitchell said. “I mean, he’s playing his behind off. He’s just out there playing with toughness, playing with heart, going out there and giving it all he got for us, and he’s made a huge impact for us.”
Darling finished with 11 points in the win, all coming in the second half, while adding three rebounds and three assists. No one other than Mitchell, Ejiofor, and Bryce Hopkins played more minutes than him after halftime.
“I got a really good coach who believes in me, who challenges me every day to be better, and he’s making me better,” Darling explained.
His year hasn’t been very smooth. After St. John’s win over Iona in December, Pitino said he needed to completely break down his shot after he stated the year 1-for-15 from 3-point range and he’s made 15-of-27 since.
In early January he was benched in a victory against Butler because Pitino didn’t like the way he had been playing and wanted him to return to a “junkyard dog” mentality. It’s all paid off and now Darling and the Red Storm are seeing it pay dividends.
“I put a lot of reps in, and I just think I’m growing more and more comfortable in my own skin out there with these guys every day,” Darling added. “Just keep growing and I guess these are the results.”
If Dylan Darling keeps churning out these clutch plays for St. John’s, he is going to need his own theme song when he checks in during the second half.