Deon Stroud anticipated the next play — and it led to the game-winning slam.

Stroud read the pass from New Mexico guard Saquan Singleton, intercepted it and took off on the fast break, not stopping until he leaped from the painted white Mountain West logo and uncorked a one-handed dunk to give the Fresno State Bulldogs a win over the New Mexico Lobos, 64-62 in overtime.

Fresno State trailed New Mexico 62-58 with 1:05 remaining in overtime and Singleton at the free throw line. Singleton missed his free throw and Isaiah Hill grabbed the rebound, raced down the court and tossed it down to Junior Ballard in the left corner.

Ballard had less than a second to set his feet and pull up for a wide-open 3-pointer, hitting it off the back rim and in.

Clinging to a one point lead with 34 seconds left in overtime, New Mexico suffered the fatal turnover of the game: Stroud’s steal and slam dunk on the fast break. It was a bounce back moment for Stroud after being benched last Wednesday against Boise State.

“If we did a better job of taking care of the basketball, we wouldn’t be talking about Deon Stroud, but he made some explosive plays at the end and it made the difference,” New Mexico head coach Paul Weir said.

New Mexico still had a chance to take the lead, but guard Makuach Maluach let the basketball slip through his fingers and into the hands of Orlando Robinson. Robinson threw an outlet pass to Hill, who was fouled and hit one of two from the charity stripe.

Forward Rod Brown grabbed the defensive rebound for New Mexico, giving the Lobos one final chance to tie or win the game. Time ran out on Maluach as he attempted a contested 3-pointer, ending a back-and-forth contest that featured 16 lead changes.

“I’m glad we pulled it out,” Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson said. “We did a lot of good things, and we did a lot of bad things, but I’m glad we kept fighting and we made some big plays at the end and pulled it out.”

Weir had an opposite reaction postgame: “I feel awful for the kids, sick to be honest with you.” 

It was almost a game that got away from the Bulldogs, who held possession and a 4-point lead over the Lobos with 44 seconds left in regulation.

With 1:06 left in regulation and the Bulldogs leading by one, Isaiah Hill dribbled across the timeline, dished it to Stroud, who then swung the ball to a wide-open Ballard in the left corner. The Cal Poly transfer — who led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 points — knocked down the 3 to extend Fresno State’s lead to 53-49. 

Guard Kurt Wegscheider provided a spark off the bench for New Mexico, checking in the game with 44 seconds left and grabbing a steal from Ballard. Holland fouled Maluach, who hit both free throws to cut Fresno State’s lead to 53-51.

In an attempt to dribble the ball upcourt after receiving the inbounds pass, Holland was stripped by New Mexico point guard Jeremiah Francis III. Francis went up for the shot and missed, then grabbed his own rebound and made the putback to tie the game.

Kyle Harding was fouled with 19 seconds left and had the chance to win the game from the free throw line, but he missed both attempts. Fresno State continued their free throw-shooting woes from Boise State on Thursday. The Bulldogs shot 55% from the stripe (12-of-22).

Fresno State’s first half could be summarized by a play sequence with 6:07 in the half. Leo Colimerio found Orlando Robinson wide open on the block, but the 7-foot sophomore was quickly double-teamed. He went up for the layup which was blocked. Then, he pump faked and went up for a second try. 

It never touched the rim.

The long rebound fell into the hands of Colimerio, who swung it out to an open Holland for 3. Holland swished it through right before the shot clock expired.

The Bulldogs tried to establish a paint presence during the first half, but could only rely on perimeter shots against the Lobos’ 2-3 zone defense. The Bulldogs made five 3-pointers and four free throws — and not a single two-pointer — in the first half. The game was tied at 19 headed into halftime.

“It started with our turnovers on the fast break and it turned into we missed some easy shots inside or got them blocked,” Hutson said. “I think the zone got us stagnant and we didn’t really move it in the first half, but we came back in the second half and did move the ball.”

New Mexico’s zone defense effectively limited Orlando Robinson for the entire game. Robinson scored his first and only field goal with 2:29 left in regulation, finishing with 4 points in 35 minutes. Thursday marked the first time this season that Robinson scored in single figures.

Fresno State found its inside scoring when Stroud first checked into the game to start the second half. Following a Braxton Meah layup, Kyle Harding intercepted the ensuing inbound pass, lofted the basketball in the air towards a charging Stroud, who brought it home for an alley-oop dunk.

Two minutes later, Stroud picked Singleton’s pocket, took two steps into the paint and exploded towards the rim for a tomahawk dunk.

Stroud’s energy and aggressive rim attack opened up the Bulldogs’ offense in the second half, where the team shot an improved 47% from the field.

Stroud finished the game with 14 points in 23 minutes off the bench, with his most critical bucket coming on the fast break slam dunk that won it for the Bulldogs in overtime.

“Their speed really bothered us,” Weir said. “On that play [by Stroud], our guys were already fatigued from playing 41 to 45 minutes.”

New Mexico will look to rest up before its second game of the series against Fresno State on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m.