Senior forward Jamari Traylor gives KU lift off bench

Kansas forward Jamari Traylor rips away a rebound from San Diego State forward Skylar Spencer (0) during the first half, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015 at Viejas Arena in San Diego.

San Diego ? Jamari Traylor definitely filled his role as Kansas University’s “energy guy” in the Jayhawks’ 70-57 victory over San Diego State on Tuesday night in San Diego State’s Viejas Arena.

Traylor, who played six minutes in the first half — a half in which KU led by 16 points overall and 39-27 at the break — was a force the final half, especially after the Aztecs cut KU’s lead to four points.

The 6-foot-8 Chicago senior scored six points with five rebounds and two steals in 15 vital minutes.

“I’m a senior,” Traylor said, “so if I’m playing hard, those guys (younger teammates) don’t have an excuse if they see me doing that.”

Traylor said a key to Tuesday’s victory was the fact the Jayhawks moved the ball.

“We knew we had to move the ball, because they are one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Defensively we didn’t want to give them easy buckets.”

KU hit 42.6 percent of its shots including eight of 19 threes. S.D. State hit 37 percent including three of eight from three.

KU senior Perry Ellis, who had 20 points in 35 minutes, was quite impressed the Jayhawks kept their composure after seeing the 16-point lead dip to four, 45-41, still with 13:45 left.

“We kept running our offense and moving the ball,” Ellis said. “We’ve been in these situations before. I feel comfortable in our team. We showed composure and that should help moving forward.”

— See what people were saying about Kansas at San Diego State during KUsports.com’s live blog