After dropping three straight games away from Smith Center, Wednesday night’s 78-39 victory over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore provided the GW men’s basketball team (3-3) with a welcome homecoming and a return to .500. The game was the squad’s first on campus since their victory over Boston University Nov. 14.

“We just needed a home game,” head coach Karl Hobbs said. “We needed a break tonight. It worked out well for us.”

The break follows important out-of-conference matchups with teams from the NCAA’s power conferences. After losing to No. 7/8 UCLA (AP, ESPN/USA Today) in California Nov. 28, the Colonials lost to the Southeastern Conference’s Auburn University Sunday in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center.

At times, the Colonials appeared sluggish and fatigued, turning the ball over 19 times with freshman Xavier Alexander leading the team with five turnovers. Hobbs said that Alexander appeared tired as the game began and that he thought travel played a large part.

“This has been a real difficult week, coming back from California,” Hobbs said. “Hopefully we can fight through all that.”

The fight will continue Sunday, as GW travels to Virginia Tech, who they bested in last season’s BB&T Classic. The Hokies are 4-3 and riding a two-game winning streak. Hobbs said he hopes that some of Wednesday’s success will carry over to Sunday.

“I like to think that (the Maryland Eastern Shore) game will give us a little momentum,” Hobbs said. “Hopefully it will give us some confidence, and now we have a few days to prepare and get ourselves ready for Sunday.”

The trip to Blacksburg, Va., will also be a return for junior Wynton Witherspoon, who transferred to GW from Virginia Tech in 2006. Witherspoon missed last year’s game against the Hokies as he sat out the season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

When asked if Witherspoon will have any added adrenaline heading into the game, Hobbs said, “I’m sure he will. He’s playing well, but I think he can play much better.”

After traveling to Virginia Tech, the Colonials have just three more games before conference play begins Jan. 10, hosting Longwood University Dec. 23 between trips to Binghamton University and the University of Alabama.

Hobbs said he is looking for more stability on the court as the out-of-conference schedule winds down.

“I want consistent effort from everybody across the board,” Hobbs said. “Hopefully we can get that.”