CLEMSON — There was a moment during Saturday’s win over Miami, when Brad Brownell walked over to his team’s huddle after talking with his coaches and found guard Dillon Hunter talking to his teammates.

“That is what we need,” the Clemson head coach said.

Though Hunter is not known as a vocal leader, the Tigers’ senior is a leader. He does it in so many ways, whether it is delivering his coaches’ messages, motivating his teammates with individual conversations, talking to the team in the huddle or doing the dirty work on the court. Hunter is one of the main reasons why Clemson has won nine straight games and ranks No. 18 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

“Dillon has done a good job of creating the culture here,” forward Carter Welling said. “He is one of the key returners and he has done a really good job of setting the tone and what to expect.

“I think you see it night in and night out.”

Night in and night out, Hunter does his job. He is not going to score 20 points, but what he does is he fills up the stat line. In the Tigers’ win over Miami, he scored seven points, dished out seven assists, had five rebounds and produced four steals.

“His experience is clearly evident in the way he plays and the way our team plays,” Brownell said.

Case in point, in Saturday’s game, the Hurricanes were trying to come back after being down by 15 points at one point in the second half. Miami was down nine, 59-50, and had possession of the ball when Hunter grabbed one of his five rebounds and sprinted down the court, pulled up in the paint and hit a jumper with 4:27 to go.

The Tigers (16-3, 6-0 ACC) got another stop on Miami’s ensuing possession, and on the other end, Hunter drained a three-pointer with 3:42 to play to give Clemson a 14-point lead, 64-50, and all but ending the game.

“He is super competitive. He is an energy guy,” Welling said. “He is always going a hundred percent in practice, so he is by far a great leader.”

And that is all Brownell has wanted Hunter to be.

“That is who Dillon Hunter is as a player. That is kind of what I told you guys back in the beginning of the season. We are not looking for Dillon Hunter to average 15 points a game,” Brownell said. “We want him to do what he does, which is run the team and make sure other guys are involved and whatever our team needs that day.

“He usually figures it out with us and plays the game the right way. Obviously, that is why he has very good assist-to-turnover numbers. And when he has open shots, in games like this, he usually makes them. Obviously, he made two big shots in the second half there.”

The Tigers definitely need Hunter’s leadership Tuesday night when they host NC State, who is led by Clemson alum Will Wade, at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tip is set for 7 p.m.