South Carolina’s B.J. Mack scored 25 points as the Gamecocks capped the winningest regular season in program history with a 93-89 overtime victory against Mississippi State on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi.

South Carolina (25-6, 13-5 SEC) notched a 25^th victory in the regular season for the first time in program history. The Gamecocks, picked to finish last in the SEC's preseason poll, finished 11-21 last season.

Despite the victory, which enabled the Gamecocks to finish in a four-way tie for second place in the SEC standings, South Carolina will be the No. 5 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville.

The Gamecocks were relegated to the fifth seed and therefore missed out on a coveted double-bye due to having the worst winning percentage against the three teams with which it tied – Alabama, Auburn and Kentucky. The Gamecocks were 1-2 against that trio.

Kentucky is the No. 2 seed behind top-seed and regular-season champion Tennessee while Alabama is seeded third and Auburn No. 4.

The Gamecocks will open tournament play on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 12 seed Arkansas and 13 seed Vanderbilt at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Like most South Carolina games this season, Saturday's game went down to the wire. The Gamecocks have played eight games this season decided by four or fewer points and improved to 2-0 in overtime games.

“I literally aged in that one,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. “We try to give the fans what they want – extra drama, a little overtime love, some suspense.”

There was plenty of each to go around.

Mississippi State (19-12, 8-10) pushed the Gamecocks throughout, but led just once when Josh Hubbard scored the first basket of the second half to give the Bulldogs a short-lived 40-38 lead. The Gamecocks responded with a 6-0 run and never trailed again, although Mississippi State tied the score five times in the final 13:07 of regulation.

South Carolina was whistled for a foul with 1.4 seconds left, and Dashawn Davis made both free throws to send the game to overtime.

In overtime the Bulldogs pulled within a point five times, but Mack helped keep them at bay, scoring seven straight South Carolina points during one two-minute stretch. A pair of free throws by Meechie Johnson sealed it with 5.8 seconds remaining.

"It has been a lot of fun," Paris said. "This one didn’t seem like fun a lot of the time, but turned out exactly how we wanted it to ultimately.”

South Carolina also got 19 points from Collin Murray-Boyles, 16 points from Johnson and 13 from Zachary Davis.

Freshmen shine again for Gamecocks, Bulldogs

South Carolina and Mississippi State both are veteran-heavy teams, but each has a budding freshman star.

The Gamecocks' Collin Murray-Boyles, who has scored in double figures in nine of the Gamecocks’ last 10 games, scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. He also had eight rebounds, four steals and a career-high six assists.

The Bulldogs’ Hubbard had 28 points and has scored in double figures in 26 of 31 games, including scoring 20 or more points 11 times, which leads the nation among true freshmen. He had four 3-pointers against the Gamecocks, giving him 98 this season, breaking the school record held by Darryl Wilson.

Gamecocks, Bulldogs find success vs. Top 10

South Carolina and Mississippi State are two of the three SEC teams and two of 15 nationally to claim victories against two Top 10 conference foes this season.

The Gamecocks own wins against No. 5 Tennessee (63-59) on Jan. 30 and No. 6 Kentucky (79-62) on Jan. 23. The Bulldogs defeated No. 5 Tennessee (77-72) on Jan. 10 and No. 8 Auburn (64-58) on Jan. 27, which only underscored South Carolina's achievement on Saturday.

"A lot of good teams have come in here and lost," Paris said. "We avoided adding our name to that list."

The Gamecocks became just the fourth team to post a victory in 15 games at Humphrey Coliseum this season.

Paris lauds another team effort from Gamecocks

South Carolina prevailed at Mississippi State on Saturday by essentially doing what it has been all season -- getting balanced scoring and team play.

South Carolina got at least seven points from each starter as well as a combined 13 points from Miles Stute, Josh Gray and Jacobi Wright off the bench. Five different players have led the team in scoring this season while eight have enjoyed games as the team's leading rebounder.

“Super proud of this group,” Paris said. “I’ve been trying to stand on the top of any mountain I can climb up to and sing their praises. It’s a special group and they continue to achieve.”

Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina basketball notches overtime win vs. Mississippi State