CHAMPAIGN — It was a match-up of two seven-foot centers Saturday afternoon at the Assembly Hall.

Meyers Leonard stepped up and led Illinois (8-0) to an 82-75 upset win over the 19th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-1) at the Assembly Hall.

Leonard bested Gonzaga’s Robert Sacre in one of the most efficient games by an Illini this season. Leonard scored a game high 21 points, 19 of which came in the second half, on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. Leonard also had six rebounds and one block for the Illini.

“I knew I had to come out in the second half and keep my head on straight to help the team win,” Leonard, said. “I came out a little more confident as the game went on, and I felt like I continued to do good things. It felt good.”

Sacre had the Illini’s number in the first half. The Bulldog center took advantage of the absence of Leonard, due to foul trouble, by scoring 14 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes. The Illini shut down Sacre in the second half, holding him to just two of his 16 points and drawing all five of his fouls in the second stanza.

Leonard and Sacre both complemented each other after the game.

“He runs the court like a deer. He’s a great player,” Sacre said. “I actually respect him a little more, I feel.”

“He is a good player and does a lot of good things for his team, Leonard said. “He presented a good challenge for us today.”

The Illini received quality minutes off the bench from Crandell Head, Ibby Djimde and Myke Henry to close the first half after the Illini frontcourt got into foul trouble.

“I’ve got to credit our bench for really coming through for us,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “When we got into foul trouble and needed them to step up they were able to come through for us.”

The Illini held a 38-36 advantage at halftime.

Illinois, who trailed only once at 2-0, used a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 45-38 with 15:54 left in the contest. The Illini wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the game.

“It was a great road environment, our first one of the year,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I thought we played well enough to win, but every time we made a run Illinois answered us and that is a credit to them.” “Great basketball game, great energy both teams played hard and Illinois did a great job of stepping up at the end.”

The Assembly Hall crowd was very loud, making things very difficult for the Bulldogs.

“Other than the North Carolina game last year this was probably the loudest that I have ever heard it, Leonard said. “It was very helpful our fans did a great job for us today.”

Illinois has outscored all of its opponents in the paint this season and Saturday was no exception, the Illini bested the Bulldogs 36-32 in the paint.

“We have done a good job of getting the ball inside, sometimes not as much as I would like.” I knew post play would be a key factor for us today.” Weber said.

DJ Richardson hit a season high four 3-pointers on his way to 19 points, one shy of his career high.

“It felt good to hit a couple of shots early and that built my confidence as the game went on”, Richardson said.

Illinois as a team shot 53 percent from the floor, the third time this season the Illini has shot over 50 percent.

Two other Illini reached double figures, Brandon Paul and Sam Manaiscalco added 13 and 10 points respectively. Manaiscalco dished out a season-best six assists and four steals, the most by an Illini this season.

Elias Harris led Gonzaga with 19 points and three steals; Kevin Pangos added 11 points for the Bulldogs.

With the win, Illinois starts the season 8-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. The victory also snapped a five-game losing streak for Illinois against ranked opponents, with the last win coming against then No. 17 Michigan State last season.

Illinois will host St. Bonaventure Wednesday night at the Assembly Hall at 8 p.m.