Fast recap: Kansas falls to St. John's at the hands of game-winning layup

SAN DIEGO — After falling behind by nine with four minutes left, Kansas stormed back to tie the game with 13 seconds left on Darryn Peterson free throws. St. John’s gave Kansas heartbreak, with Dylan Darling scoring a buzzer-beating layup to secure a 67-65 win for the Red Storm and a spot in the Sweet 16.

For much of the game, Kansas struggled to score. The Jayhawks kept it close by making things hard on the Red Storm, who finished the game shooting 36% from the floor. A major key of the game was turnover disparity, with St. John’s scoring 18 points off 14 Kansas turnovers.

Peterson led the Jayhawks with 21 points on 5/15 shooting. At times, St. John’s made it hard for Kansas’ leading scorer to touch the ball.

Bryce Hopkins powered the Red Storm with 18 points on six threes. Former Jayhawk Zuby Ejiofor notched 18 points and nine rebounds, stretching St. John’s lead late before Kansas came storming back.

Ultimately, the late comeback effort was not enough. Kansas fell at the hands of a game-winner, and it failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season.

First half: St. John’s extends lead late in ugly first half

Bryce Hopkins and Darryn Peterson traded a pair of threes as the game got off to a fast-paced start. However, the Jayhawks started to turn it over with three giveaways in the first four minutes.

St. John’s capitalized with five points. Oziyah Sellers hit a three, and Dillon Mitchell picked off a pass leading to a layup. The Red Storm took an 11-6 lead into the game’s first media timeout.

Kansas struggled to get anything going against St. John’s pressure, going on a scoring drought of over four minutes. Flory Bidunga picked up two fouls in a span of seconds, leading to an early stretch for Paul Mbiya. Ian Jackson knocked down a second-chance three to extend the Red Storm’s run to 11-0.

St. John’s offense hit a wall, going scoreless for over five minutes. The Red Storm looked gassed as the game pushed through the under-12 timeout. The Jayhawks got ahead of the pack with scores from Elmarko Jackson and Melvin Council Jr. Kansas trailed 16-12 when a stoppage finally hit at the 8:55 mark.

Back on the court, Bidunga hit a long two to beat the shot clock and bring Kansas within two. After Jackson tied the game with a mid-range, Hopkins broke the long St. John’s drought with his third three. Zuby Ejiofor started to get going, scoring five straight to push the Red Storm’s lead to 23-18.

Peterson brought the Jayhawks’ deficit to one with a trip to the line. However, the Red Storm outscored Kansas 9-2 over the final two minutes to push their lead to 34-26 at the break. Ruben Prey and Joson Sanon hit threes, and Ejiofor scored three from the line.

Kansas (34.5%) shot marginally better than St. John’s (28.9%) in the first half. However, nine Jayhawk turnovers led to 12 Red Storm points, making the difference in an ugly first half.

Second half: Kansas storms back, falls on a buzzer-beating layup

Council did a better job of pushing pace early in the second half, scoring four straight. After Ian Jackson scored in transition, Peterson hit a three to bring Kansas within four.

However, St. John’s responded with scores on three straight trips. Ejiofor made a layup before Jackson and Hopkins made threes. The Jayhawks continued to turn it over, with Council giving it up as Kansas trailed 47-37 with 13:32 remaining.

Everything looked hard for the Jayhawks on offense, with a Peterson floater through traffic marking their first field goal in nearly four minutes. Mitchell scored four straight, extending St. John’s lead to 54-40 with 8:51 to play.

Kansas found offense for a moment, with Bidunga scoring and Kohl Rosario making a three. However, the Red Storm had answers for both scores in the form of Prey and Ejiofor. They remained ahead by double-digits at the under-eight timeout.

The Jayhawks finally built some momentum, starting with Council knocking down a three. Peterson started to take over, scoring five straight to bring Kansas within five.

Ejiofor countered, scoring to stop the run then picking Peterson’s pocket. The former Jayhawk scored again to push St. John’s lead to nine. Council drove for a layup, and Kansas trailed 62-55 with 3:41 remaining.

The Jayhawks punched right back, scoring eight straight to draw within one. Rosario and Bidunga got on the offensive glass, each scoring putbacks to make St. John’s lead 62-61 with 1:58 to play.

Late in the shot clock, Hopkins made his sixth three to push the Red Storm’s lead to four. White followed his own miss for a second-chance score. Kansas got the stop it needed, trailing 64-62 with 24.4 seconds remaining.

Peterson got fouled, tying the game at 64-64 with 13 seconds left. After using fouls to help run time off the clock, Dylan Darling drove for a layup to give St. Johns a 66-64 win at the buzzer. It was Darling’s first points of the game.