Prior to Saturday’s 72-57 victory at Virginia Tech, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell told guard Del Jones he was going to play a lot.

However, Brownell did not expect the true freshman to play a season-high 23 minutes. With starter Chase Hunter on the bench most of the game thanks to the flu, while his brother Dillon was in foul trouble, Brownell had no choice but to stay with Jones, and luckily for Clemson, he came through.

Jones finished the evening with a career-best 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, while also making three of his four free throw attempts, as he helped the Tigers win their fifth straight game and their eighth in the last nine outings.

“He has kind of been coming,” Brownell said after the game. “The last two weeks he has practiced as well as he has. He has played a little bit more consistently in games. He played well against Syracuse the other day.”

Jones was a perfect 3-for-3 against the Orange this past Wednesday, as he came off the bench to score nine points in 15 minutes. He also had nine points in 16 minutes against Florida State on Jan. 11.

But as good as Jones played in those two games, what he did at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia on Saturday was big-time.

“I think we have started to see some consistency there. Obviously, he was big down the stretch,” Brownell said.

At one point in the second half, Jones scored six straight points in a key stretch that allowed the Tigers to regain control of the game.

“We got into a bunch of foul trouble,” Brownell said. “Dillon got in foul trouble and Chase was not playing much. Certainly, before the game, we told him, ‘You are going to play more.’”

The Hokies (8-12, 3-6 ACC) had pulled within four points, 49-45, with 10:10 play after trailing by 16 at one point early in the second half.

Clemson (17-4, 9-1 ACC) had not scored in over four minutes and desperately needed someone to get the ball into the basket. Jones became that guy.

The freshman from Landover, Maryland, drove the basketball hard for a layup. Following a free throw after making the front end of a one-and-one, he drew a foul and sank two more free shots.

The next time down the floor, Jones dribbled to his right, came back left, stepped back and drained a fadeaway jumper. On the Tigers’ next possession, he went left and knocked down a jumper at the elbow. In a four-and-a-half-minute span, Jones scored nine of his 13 points, as Clemson extended its lead to 15 points, 68-53, with 4:02 to go.

“Del Jones made some big-time plays down the stretch,” Brownell said.

Chase Hunter scored just two points in the 10 minutes he played in the second half, while Dillon Hunter added just three points in the 18 minutes he was on the court. Jones on the other hand, grabbed five rebounds and added two assists to just one turnover in 23 minutes of action.

“He took advantage of his opportunity,” Brownell said.