Bol Dengdit erased a one-point deficit on a three-point play with 1:16 to play last night to cap a second-half comeback and lead UC San Diego to a 72-69 victory over Cal Poly in Wednesday’s first-round Big West Tournament game in Henderson, Nev.

Tom Beattie added two free throws with 27 seconds to play and Dengdit added a slam dunk just ahead of the final buzzer after the Mustangs pulled to within a point.

The defending Big West champion and fifth-seeded Tritons (23-10) advance to Thursday night’s quarterfinals against No. 4 seed Cal State Northridge (19-13). Tipoff from Lee’s Family Forum is 6 p.m.

Cal Poly (14-19) led 35-26 at halftime, but UCSD stormed back in the second half behind freshman guard Hudson Mayes, who scored 16 of his 23 points after intermission.

An 8-0 Tritons run gave UCSD its first lead since 5-2 at 17:29 to play in the first half. UCSD led 53-49 with 9:10 to play. But Mayes fouled out with 5:56 to play as the game went back and forth.

Beattie, who scored a career-high 20 points, hit a 3-pointer to put the Tritons up 64-63 with 1:56 to go. Cal Poly regained the lead at 65-64 when Dengdit was fouled while scoring at the rim. His free throw put the Tritons up by two points.

Mayes came within one point of his career high. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Beattie had 20 points, four assists and five rebounds. Dengdig had 11 points and five rebounds but was limited by early foul trouble.

The Tritons had split the regular-season series with Cal Poly. After hitting just 10-of-27 field goals in the first half, UCSD went 15-for-28 in the second half.

3C2A Elite 8s

MiraCosta College’s women will be in action Thursday, when the California Community College Athletic Association basketball championships begin with the four quarterfinal games at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia.

The Spartans (29-1), the No. 3 seed team from the Southern California Regionals, will play Folsom Lake College (28-2), the No. 2 seed from Northern California, at 2 p.m.

The men’s quarterfinals will be played Friday, with No. 5 south seed San Diego City College (25-5) playing No. 1 north seed San Francisco City College (29-1) at 5 p.m.