Seven-foot center Meyers Leonard scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Illinois to a 70-61 victory over Richmond in the Cancun Challenge semifinals on Tuesday.

Illinois (4-0) scored win No. 300 for coach Bruce Weber.

Richmond (3-2) suffered its first loss in 12 regular-season tournament games and falls to 24-4 in non-conference matchups since the 2007-08 season.

The Fighting Illini grabbed a 37-19 halftime lead with a 16-3 run to end the first half, going to its size inside and getting to the foul line. The Fighting Illini went 12-for-13 from the charity stripe in the first half and finished 23-for-28 from the line.

Spiders guards Darien Brothers (22 points) and Cedrick Lindsay (11) constantly challenged the Illinois towering interior by knifing through the lane, and 5-foot-8 freshman Kendall Anthony continued to impress with 11 points.

The Fighting Illini were able to avoid foul trouble in the first half, but tired legs and bad position led to foul issues midway through the second period. Richmond went to the stripe 13 times in the half, knocking down 10 free throws, and pulled to within six after trailing by as many as 18 points.

Illinois junior D.J. Richardson scored 15 points while Sam Maniscalco, a transfer from Bradley, got his first start and chipped in with a career-high 19 points.

Illinois advances to the Cancun Challenge final to play Illinois State Wednesday. Richmond will face Rutgers in the consolation game.