Hathaway was there to study the sizzling Seminoles, but it was coach Steve Donahue’s Eagles who provided the drama with a stunning 64-60 upset of the 15th-ranked Seminoles, who came into the game with a school-record seven-game winning streak in the ACC.

The message Hathaway should have taken from Florida State seemed clear: On Selection Sunday, please keep us away from the East Regional that will be held in Boston next month.

FSU (17-6, 8-1) is top 20-caliber, but when facing teams from the Boston area, strange things happen. One of FSU’s most perplexing early-season losses was to Harvard, 46-41, in a game that was tied at halftime, 14-14.

Last night was equally puzzling as FSU lost to a team that was on a six-game losing streak. BC (8-16, 3-7) hardly looked like a last-place team in taking a 34-33 halftime lead - only the second time in 12 games it led at the half. The other time was Jan. 14 against Virginia Tech, which was also the last time it won.

But instead of a second-half collapse, the Eagles showed staying power as they expanded their lead to 8 points midway through the half, then fought off a final surge FSU put together.

FSU had closed within 3 (60-57) with 53 seconds left and had the ball, but when Luke Loucks missed a 3-point shot, the Seminoles were forced to foul.

BC’s Lonnie Jackson made a pair of foul shots to expand the lead to 6 at 63-57, but FSU’s Michael Snaer hit a 3-point shot with 3.9 seconds left to make it a one-possession game again.

BC’s Jordan Daniels, who had a career-high 21 points, was fouled with 3.1 seconds left and put the second shot through the net.

“These are the moments you live for,’’ said Daniels, who scored 13 of his points in the first half. “A good one like that measures growth for us, to be able to pull it out in the stretch.’’

Daniels led BC’s 3-point blitz by hitting 4 of 7 from long range (the Eagles made 10 of 22 for the night).

“That got our whole team going, and it allowed us to make plays,’’ said Daniels, who also had five assists and only one turnover.

Daniels was well aware of past efforts in which BC put together 35 minutes of solid basketball in 40-minute games and came away disappointed.

“We helped each other focus our way through it,’’ he said. “We had been in that position many times before and we hadn’t been able to pull it out in the stretch, but this time we really came together and we were able to do it.’’

Donahue was relieved that the losing streak was over and satisfied that the lessons learned had finally resulted in a positive ending.

“I just thought we took a huge step in taking ownership of the team,’’ said Donahue, who switched to a zone defense in the second half that limited the Seminoles to 9-of-30 shooting. “We did a great job in not just trying to not make mistakes, but trying to make plays.’’

The players’ experience - even with the losses - was a factor, according to the coach.

“They’re not freshmen anymore,’’ said Donahue, who has nine freshmen on the roster. “Think of the minutes they have played; usually when you play that many minutes, you’re a sophomore or a junior already.

“I told them, ‘Use that, that’s why you were able to win tonight.’

“I thought the last four games we did a very good job in competing. They learned how to compete.

‘I told them, ‘Learn how to make plays. Take control. You’re not freshmen anymore. You have got to learn from what you went through the last month and a half.’ ’’

Last night showed that they did.

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.