ELKHART — Wawasee kept pace with Elkhart Memorial in the second half, but a slow start wound up costing the Warriors in a 70-57 loss to the Chargers in boys hoops Friday night at North Side Gym.

A monster second half from Alex Clark, who scored 22 of his team-high 27 points after intermission, kept the Warriors in the game. But a slow start, which had Wawasee trail 15-8 after the first stanza, stuck on the scoreboard. Clark hit three shots from outside the arc and was a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line to pace the Warriors.

Jeff Moore also hit a trio of bombs and finished with nine points and Jake Hutchinson chipped in eight points for the Warriors (3-7), which have lost five in a row dating back to a home win over Whitko on Dec. 8. Wawasee falls to 0-3 in the Northern Lakes Conference and have lost 10 NLC games in a row dating back to 2011.

Memorial climbs to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in the NLC, ending its own personal five-game losing skid.

The Chargers had four players in double figures, led by 17 points from Dimitri Giger. Cameron Maxwell scored 15 points, Markese McGuire had 14 points and Michael O’Toole chipped in 11 points.

The Wawasee JV began the night with a 40-38 win over Memorial.

Memorial will stay in the NLC to face Northridge next Saturday again at North Side Gym while Wawasee will keep the Elkhart theme going in hosting the Blue Blazers of Elkhart Central tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.