St. John’s Buzzer-Beating Hero Broke Adam Morrison’s Scoring Record in High School

Dylan Darling was a star basketball player at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley

St. John's Red Storm guard Dylan Darling (0) controls the ball against Kansas Jayhawks guard Elmarko Jackson (13) the second-round game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

St. John’s redshirt junior guard Dylan Darling showcased what was most likely the biggest moment in his basketball career Sunday evening.

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament in San Diego, Darling delivered a buzzer-beating layup to guide the fifth-seeded Red Storm to a thrilling 67-65 win over fourth-seeded Kansas. The win also propelled St. John’s to its first trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 since 1999.

Darling, who scored his first points of the contest on that game winner, has lived for the theatrics this season. In January, the junior hit a go-ahead three with 53 seconds left in the Red Storm’s 88-83 victory over Xavier.

Before entering the college basketball world, Darling was a star player at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Washington.

Darling averaged 33.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 4.4 steals per game in his 2021-22 senior season for the Bears. He broke the Greater Spokane League scoring average record, which was previously held by former Mead High School standout Adam Morrison (28.5 ppg).

Morrison, a Gonzaga men’s basketball legend who played a few seasons in the NBA, compiled that average through 19 league games in the 2002-03 season. Darling went on to average 35.6 ppg in 13 league contests, which included a 58-point performance against North Central on Feb. 1, 2022.

The efforts from Darling even garnered praise from Morrison, who is also a college All-American and two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Darling, the 2021-22 Greater Spokane League MVP, received Washington 4A and SBLive Washington Player of the Year honors as well.

When college recruits came knocking, Darling ultimately picked Washington State over Idaho State. He played 25 games as a freshman for the Cougars but suffered a season-ending injury his sophomore year and eventually entered the transfer portal.

Darling transferred to Idaho State, where he was named the Big Sky Player of the year in his first season for the Bengals.

His father, James Darling, was an All-Pac-10 Conference and second-team All-American linebacker at Washington State. James went on to play 10 seasons in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.

St. John’s (30-6) is set to face top-seeded Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday at 7:10 p.m. at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

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