As Roy Hibbert slowly strode to center court for the opening jump, he resembled a tall Sequoia standing in a forest of saplings.

The 7-foot-2 Georgetown center stood a good five inches above the tallest Cincinnati Bearcat. After the final buzzer sounded, ending a game in which Hibbert notched a career-high 26 points and led the Hoyas to an 82-67 victory, the giant junior remained on the floor, still towering above his visibly awestruck opponents.

“My size,” Hibbert said when asked after the game what he was able to exploit Saturday at Verizon Center. “It’s easier shooting a two-foot shot than having to throw up a shot from the three-point line. I try to do my part.”

Hibbert filled his role ably against the ‘Cats – his efforts were enough to earn Big East player of the week distinctions – who scrapped mightily against the taller Hoyas in the first half, shooting an astounding 78 percent from three-point range, including a blistering 5-for-5 long ball effort from junior center Marcus Sikes. Sikes scored 16 of Cincinnati’s 35 first-half points and kept his team in the game despite a solid half of play from Hibbert and Company.

For each pretty put-back by junior forward Jeff Green or rousing rebound by freshman forward Vernon Macklin, the Bearcats countered with a trey, encumbering the Hoyas’ chances at putting the game away. When Georgetown stretched the lead to 16 late in the first half, Sikes and junior guard Marvin Gentry led their team back with an 11-0 run to cut the Hoya lead to five at halftime.

But Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III made the necessary adjustments in the locker room, and the Hoyas opened the second half with an 8-0 run. The most important change was to entrench Hibbert under the basket, where the big man dominated his domain down low, scoring six of the Hoyas’ first eight second-half points and swatting Cincinnati’s shots with authority.

“We knew coming in we had size on them, so we just wanted to throw the ball down to Roy and get him going because we knew the quicker he gets going, the quicker we can move up and down the floor and we follow Roy, and Roy was a leader today,” Green said. “By doing all the little things, getting a lot rebounds, a lot of blocked shots, we just tried to get him the ball early.”

Hibbert proved to be the difference in the second frame, pulling down 11 boards to notch his 12th career double-double and carry his team to their fourth straight conference win.

It looked as if things might get out of hand when the sweet-shooting Sikes took an early curtain call after his fifth foul seven minutes into the second half. Gentry assumed Sikes’ lead gunner position, knocking down threes from all over the floor to finish with 15 points, but in the end, the height deficit proved too much to overcome for the Bearcats.

For his part, Cincinnati Head Coach Mick Cronin had no doubt as to what made the difference Saturday afternoon.

“It was their size. . It was two reasons: There’s not a lot of preparation time for their intricate offense and, secondly, there’s such a size disparity,” Cronin said. “They got four or five inches in each position, so I thought our guys did a pretty good job in the zone, and our game plan was pretty solid but we weren’t able to keep them off the offensive glass.”

Although Hibbert’s heroics were the headline of the day, the Georgetown attack was anything but a one-man show, with four Hoyas scoring in double figures. Green did his part by adding 17 points, capped off by a graceful one-handed slam on a fluid fast break with a little less than three minutes to play. Junior guard Jonathan Wallace scored 13 and did his part to add to Hibbert’s romp with four assists. The onslaught continued even when Wallace rested and sophomore guard Jessie Sapp added 10 points and three assists of his own.

On the defensive side, junior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. tried mightily to offset the 19-point arsenal of Sikes, Gentry and freshman guard Deonta Vaughn (18 points), hustling after loose balls and providing an emotional spark off the bench.

“I think our `D’ picked up since the beginning of the year and it’s pretty obvious. I think we are one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Ewing said after the game, surrounded by a throng of reporters and admirers, including John Thompson Jr. “Obviously, them shooting the threes was their thing today, but we were able to do other things – get blocks, get key rebounds, steals and other things like that – to discount their offense and get the win for us.”

Thompson III said after the game that the visiting team had an unusually hot hand, but his Hoyas could have done more to stop the driving rain of three-point buckets.

“I think [Sikes] got hot and then he slipped into the zone and we could’ve had some better communication,” Thompson said. “It was not as good as we have been – there’s no doubt about that.”

After two straight convincing wins in the friendly confines of Verizon, the Hoyas now take their show on the road for a two-game stretch beginning Thursday at Madison Square Garden against a struggling St. John’s squad that was blasted by Pittsburgh 72-46 on Saturday night.

“I feel like we’re a good team and playing a road game – that’s why we play in this conference,” Ewing said. “That’s what’s fun about it. We look forward to a challenge.”