SAN DIEGO — Church Bells arrived at the perfect time.

Dylan Darling, the Idaho State transfer in the midst of a massive shooting slump, sent St. John’s to the Sweet 16 with a buzzer-beating, right-handed layup at the horn after the Johnnies had blown a 14-point lead.

Darling strutted after it dropped and was immediately mobbed by his teammates after clinching this dramatic 67-65, second-round victory over Kansas at Viejas Arena.

Darryn Peterson had pulled the Jayhawks even with 14.1 seconds left, and they were able to use four fouls to stall St. John’s because it was under the limit.

With 3.8 seconds left, St. John’s inbounded the ball to Darling, and he drove in for the game-winning basket. They were his only points of the game.

In mid-February, after Darling hit a game-winning 3-pointer at Xavier, Pitino joked that he had “balls the size of church bells.”

Boy, was he right.

St. John’s will meet Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Washington, D.C., its first trip to that round since 1999.

Zuby Ejiofor led St. John’s with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Bryce Hopkins also had 18 points.

Ian Jackson had 10 off the bench.

Peterson scored 21 for Kansas.

The Red Storm have won 21 of their past 22 games.

For the first time in five games, St. John’s didn’t start on a big run.

The Red Storm reeled off an 11-0 run to take an early eight-point advantage.

They made three of their first four 3-point attempts, but then went ice-cold.

St. John’s went 5:45 without a point, and Kansas tied the game on the strength of a 9-0 burst.

Hopkins ended the drought with a 3-pointer that hit off the back rim and fell through.

Joson Sanon and Ruben Prey added 3s to help the Red Storm take an eight-point lead into halftime.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS

Against bigger Kansas, St. John’s let it fly from deep, making 7 of 23 in the opening half.

They average 21 per game this season.

A major factor in the opening half was Bidunga being limited to 12 minutes due to two early fouls.

Defense carried the Johnnies over the first 20 minutes.

They held Kansas to 34.5 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers, which led to 12 points.

Peterson hit his first two 3-point attempts but scored only nine points in the first half on 2-for-6 shooting.

St. John’s methodically pushed the lead to 10 by the under-12 timeout as it continued to handcuff Kansas.

The Jayhawks had as many turnovers (four) as made field goals over the first 8:21 of the second half.

When Mitchell scored on back-to-back possessions, St. John’s lead had ballooned to 14.

Only 8:51 remained between the Johnnies and a Sweet 16 berth.

They didn’t know at the time how dramatic those final minutes would be.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Christal Watson and local leaders gathered at Nebraska Furniture Mart Saturday for a women’s leadership panel.

The event brought together women leading in different lanes. The panel featured Watson, CEO and creative entrepreneur Jess Rogers, DJ Dawna, Katie Wedekind and homebuilder Fran Sutton.

Organizers said they wanted the truth about the work behind the wins.

“It’s something we are very passionate about. Being a female leader myself, being a mother of a daughter it’s very important that we help inspiring and lead the way for other women,” said Nastasia Williams, store director at Nebraska Furniture Mart and event organizer.

The panel focused on what comes next for women’s leadership. Watson said meeting people where they are is key to success.

For women juggling work, family and bills, the takeaway was permission to ask for help, to take up space and to learn as you go.

“You can lead with grace and love and still be the power in the room and be the power at the table,” Rogers said.

Ticket proceeds benefit Win for KC, an organization empowering girls and women through sports.

Watson was also recognized at the event, receiving the “Lift Her Up Award” for her work in the community.

A Kansas man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after allegedly stabbing a woman in an unprovoked attack at a park in Olathe, authorities said.

Kwan Noble Trezvant, 27, was arrested following a report Thursday of an armed disturbance that left a 38-year-old woman, identified in court documents as Jamie Trumpp, with critical injuries, the Olathe Police Department said.

Police said they responded at 12:06 p.m. near the 1000 block of North Ridgeview Road and found the woman suffering from stab wounds.

Trumpp was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, according to the Olathe Reporter.

Police told the outlet the attack was “completely unprovoked.”

Trumpp is a choir teacher at Indian Trail Middle School, and community members have organized a meal train fundraiser for her family, the Reporter added.

The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office alleged in its complaint that Trezvant cut Trumpp with a knife in an act of attempted first-degree murder, defined as attempting to “unlawfully, feloniously, intentionally and with premeditation kill a human being.”

Trezvant appeared in court Friday, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 26. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.

Trezvant previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery of a law enforcement officer in 2024 and was sentenced to nearly four months in jail.

In 2020, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors — obstructing the legal process and possession of drug paraphernalia — and was released on time served.