NEW YORK — It took Roy Hibbert two minutes on Friday to do what he could not at all the day before: find the basket. In the next five minutes, Hibbert nailed a three and then went in for a dunk.

By the second half, Hibbert was dominating the game on both ends, and he knew it.

“I’m a monster, be afraid,” he shouted at the crowd after his last basket of the game.

Hibbert was back, and Georgetown was here to stay, beating the West Virginia Mountaineers, 72-55, in Madison Square Garden Friday night to send the Hoyas to the Big East Championship game for the second consecutive year.

After a dismal performance against Villanova, which yielded zero points and just four rebounds, Hibbert was the star of the game, leading all players with 25 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Hibbert wasted no time in erasing any doubts brought up by Thursday’s performance.

“I knew he was going to come out hungry so we wanted to feed him. We wanted to keep feeding him and feeding him,” junior guard Jessie Sapp said. “It wasn’t just his scoring. It was his rebounds and his energy. We fed off him today, and we need him in a game like that for us to win and be successful throughout the rest of the season.”

Despite picking up an offensive foul on Georgetown’s first possession of the game, Hibbert’s early baskets set the Hoyas on the right track. The Mountaineers notched just one basket before the Hoyas took the lead about four minutes in, and never relinquished it. Georgetown led 33-21 at the half and fended off a minor Mountaineer comeback to earn the win.

“I think from the beginning our focus and our energy at the defensive end kind of set the tone,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said.

The defensive energy gave the Hoyas a boost against the Mountaineers. Hibbert and Sapp combined for 20 rebounds, while West Virginia grabbed a total of 22 rebounds on the day. Sapp also added 13 points on the day while both DaJuan Summers and Jonathan Wallace posted nine points apiece.

The Mountaineers took advantage of a few empty possessions by Georgetown at the beginning of the half to come within four points of the Hoyas, but Georgetown stepped up defensively, forcing an eight-minute drought in the second half to put West Virginia away.

The Hoyas have made a habit out of close games all season long, with last-second calls, buzzer beaters and overtimes. However, their performance has been drastically different since postseason play began, with 19 and 17 point differences against Villanova and West Virginia, respectively.

“This is March in New York. This is the Big East Tournament,” Thompson said. “So the enthusiasm was there, the energy was there, the focus was there.”

Even beyond the final tally, the Hoyas have shown depth so far in the tournament. When Hibbert ran into trouble yesterday, the rest of the Hoyas more-than compensated, tying a tournament record for three point fields goals with 17. In addition, the match-up against the Wildcats was a true team effort as 25 of 28 Georgetown field goals were assisted.

“We can play and have success in different ways,” Thompson said. “The big fella is the hub, he’s the focal point. We don’t want and will not have more days like yesterday, but … we don’t need to force feed. We have other guys that can step up and make plays.”

The Hoyas have shot well both days, averaging 54.1 percent in the two games. They also out-rebounded both of their opponents, including a 40-22 edge tonight.

The win over West Virginia sends Georgetown to the Big East title game Saturday night at 9 p.m. at Madison Square Garden, the same game in which they blew out Pittsburgh one year ago. The Hoyas will have a chance to win repeat titles, a feat not accomplished at Georgetown since Patrick Ewing Sr. was wearing the blue and gray in 1984 and 1985.