It’s safe to say that guard Eric Hayes was in a bit of a funk at the end of January.

In consecutive games against Duke and Boston College, the junior scored a combined five points on two-of-14 shooting. He hadn’t had consecutive games with less production since the end of his freshman year in 2007.

Now it seems like Hayes is working himself back into his early-season form. Coach Gary Williams replaced Hayes with Sean Mosley in the starting lineup for last week’s game against Miami, and Hayes came off the bench to score eight points. Again in a reserve role, he tallied 10 against North Carolina.

“Obviously, you’d like to be starting,” Hayes said, “but if [coming off the bench] is best for the team, I’m gonna do it.”

Back as a starter Sunday due to Adrian Bowie’s sickness, Hayes scored 15 points against Georgia Tech. It was the first time Hayes has been in double-digits for two straight games since Dec. 7 and 12.

“Eric was great,” Williams said after the Terps defeated the Yellow Jackets. “Eric’s been around; I expected that completely. A lot of times, Eric doesn’t get the credit, because his personality isn’t jumping around. Tonight Eric was the guy — he really played well.”

The Terps will need his outside shooting down the stretch, because he’s one of few guys on the team who has shown the ability to get real hot behind the 3-point arc.

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