SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- John Thompson III looked skyward and exhaled. Finally, a win on hallowed ground.

Austin Freeman had 14 points to lead four Georgetown players in double figures and the 11th-ranked Hoyas rallied late to beat Syracuse (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP) 64-56 on Wednesday night, giving Thompson his first win in the Carrier Dome in six tries.

Now, he has something to talk about with his dad, who became persona non grata around here when his Hoyas upset Syracuse 52-50 in the last game at old Manley Field House on Feb. 12, 1980. It snapped the Orange's 57-game winning streak in the intimidating building, and the elder Thompson boldly declared in his postgame press conference: "Manley Field House is officially closed."

Those words created one of college basketball's most heated rivalries and they still ring in his son's ears.

"That's one of the most talked-about moments in this conference. This is my seventh year in the Big East and this is my first win up here," Thompson said. "I've been thinking the last couple of years, some kind of way the man upstairs is going to say, 'OK, you closed down Manley, but they're your ancestors. No one in your lineage is going to win at the new place.' Me and the man upstairs, I'm glad he lifted whatever he sprinkled over the top of us."

Georgetown (19-5, 8-4 Big East) extended its winning streak to seven games and handed Syracuse (20-5, 7-5) its third straight home loss, only the third time that's happened in coach Jim Boeheim's 35 years.

Georgetown trailed by six early in the second half, then rallied for a 44-40 lead on a 3-pointer by Freeman as the game went back and forth. But when C.J. Fair's layup with 6:36 left gave Syracuse a 53-49 lead and the Carrier Dome was rocking, the Hoyas weren't intimidated in the least.