COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : Reeves Powers Arizona Into Round of 16 : West: Senior guard scores 21 of his 30 points in second half of 71-58 victory over Virginia.

The defensive specialist that Khalid Reeves had not heard of got the best of him in the first half. The second half belonged to Reeves.

Reeves burned Cornel Parker for 21 of his 30 points in the second half Sunday, leading Arizona into the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 with a 71-58 victory over Virginia in the West Regional.

“I think in the first half I wasn’t moving with the ball,” Reeves said. “I came into the second half knowing I’m always aggressive in the second half.

“I just played my heart out.”

Parker picked up his third foul early in the second half and couldn’t keep a lid on Reeves, who a day earlier had responded “Cornel who?” when asked about the Virginia senior.

“He knew I had two fouls,” Parker said. “After I picked up my third, I guess I was pretty timid the rest of the game.”

Said Reeves: “He’s a great defender, but he just didn’t play the way he did in the first half.”

Not by a long shot.

Reeves opened the second half by scoring the first six points for the second-seeded Wildcats.

He made 10 of 20 shots, 10 of 13 free throws.

Arizona, a first-round loser the last two years, advanced to a game against Louisville on Thursday night at the Sports Arena.

While Reeves stayed busy penetrating seventh-seeded Virginia’s defense, the rest of the Wildcats dominated the rebounding and held the Cavaliers scoreless for 7:37 late in the game. By the time Harold Deane’s jump shot ended Virginia’s drought with 2:20 to play, Arizona (27-5) held a 62-48 lead.

Reeves’ backcourt mate, Damon Stoudamire, scored 20 points.

“Everybody said coming in they had the best backcourt in the country, and I don’t think you’ll get a lot of disagreement from us,” Virginia Coach Jeff Jones said.

Ray Owes had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Joseph Blair added 12 rebounds for the Wildcats. Arizona Coach Lute Olson said his team’s 47-46 rebounding edge, especially its 36 rebounds at the defensive end, was the key.

“The defensive rebounding was critical,” he said. “Virginia is a tremendous offensive-rebounding team, but we got some of our own.”

Junior Burrough led the Cavaliers (18-13) with 20 points, but missed 13 of 22 shots.

Virginia made only 31% of its shots.

Arizona used a 20-2 run late in the first half to take a 33-26 halftime lead. But the Cavaliers got back in the game with a 13-2 spurt, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 41-39 with 15:06 to play.

Then Reeves took over, scoring nine consecutive points. He capped his romp with a tough bank shot and grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end.

In the first half, the Wildcats fell behind, 21-13, then scored 16 consecutive points. Stoudamire had nine points during the run while Arizona controlled the defensive rebounding and pressed the Cavaliers.

“They increased their defensive intensity and tried to pressure the basketball more,” Jones said. “We tried to rush things.”

Reeves, who leads the Wildcats with a 24-point average, scored only three points in the game’s first 17 minutes while being guarded by Parker. But Reeves, who scored 32 points in a first-round victory over Loyola of Maryland, got loose for three consecutive baskets while Parker sat out the final three minutes of the half.

Reeves’ dunk gave Arizona a 33-23 lead with 50 seconds left.