"Manley Field House is officially closed": When Georgetown legend John Thompson Jr. capped off upset over Jim Boeheim's Syracuse with iconic words

Former Georgetown Hoyas coach John Thompson Jr. elevated the team to top dogs in the Big East during his 27-year career and led them to a national championship in 1984. During his tenure at the helm of the Hoyas, Thompson created an intense rivalry with the Syracuse Orange who were coached by the legendary Jim Boeheim.

The pair battled for Big East supremacy until a memorable game in 1980 when the Hoyas bested the Orange 52-50, breaking their 57-game winning streak at Manley Field. It was also Syracuse's last home game against Georgetown before moving to Carrier Dome the next season.

During his news conference after the victory, Thompson made an iconic declaration about ending Boeheim's home-court dominance.

“Manley Field House is officially closed,” John Thompson said.

"May it rest in peace," Thompson added.

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When Jim Boeheim paid tribute to John Thompson Jr.

John Thompson and Jim Boeheim not only battled for Big East supremacy, they also fought for national titles with the Georgetown Hoyas famously winning the 1984 title and the Syracuse Orange reaching two Final Fours during the timeline of their rivalry.

In an interview with "USA TODAY" after Thompson died in 2020, Boeheim paid tribute to their intense rivalry and revealed that they had later reconciled and even became close friends.

"For 15 years, we didn’t talk, we competed," Jim Boeheim said. "Every year, all year, we thought about beating Georgetown and every year, all year, I’m sure that John thought about beating Syracuse. It was a very tough, almost brutal rivalry. I mean, it was everything you could ever ask for in a physical rivalry. We went at it as hard as you could go after it and we always shook hands afterward.

"Eventually, we talked things out. We still wanted to win every time we played, but we became friendly, we started talking more on the recruiting trail or at a conference or at the Final Four. He actually invited me to be on his (1988) Olympic workout staff at Colorado Springs when he had the Olympic team, so we had come a long way. And, at the end, we were really good friends."

John Thompson and Jim Boeheim maintained a friendly relationship despite their teams being bitter rivals on the court and even coached Team USA together during the 1988 Olympics. When Boeheim won the 2003 national championship with the Orange after beating the Kansas Jayhawks, Thompson was one of the announcers and the pair even shook hands.