DANVERS ? Bishop Fenwick went into Saturday’s North Shore High School Hoop Invitational on a roll, winners of three straight games. Now, the Crusaders will be rolling right on into the state tournament.Fenwick hammered Beverly, 89-62, in the first round of the North Shore High School Hoop Invitational Saturday at Danvers. The win qualified Fenwick (10-8) for the state tournament.”We were 6-8 (four games ago) and we knew we had to win,” said Fenwick coach Sean Connolly. “We worked hard. We really wanted to get in.”In the championship, Fenwick will face St. John’s Prep, which defeated Danvers in the first round, 65-56.Fenwick was paced once again by junior center Mike Clifford, who led the way with 33 points and 18 rebounds. Junior guard Nolan DiPanfilo chipped in 17 points; sophomore guard Trevor Grace added 13.The Crusaders gained an early 10-4 lead behind DiPanfilo and Clifford. Beverly fought back to within 12-8, but what followed was a Fenwick onslaught.The Crusaders went off for a 27-6 run, with the majority of their points coming from Clifford inside and DiPanfilo on the perimeter. Grace also got into the act, draining two early treys.With Fenwick holding a 39-14 lead midway through the second quarter, the Panthers had a difficult time catching up. The Beverly attack was cold from the perimeter and unable to generate any penetration with Clifford standing in the lane.”We wanted to take away their dribble drive,” Connolly said. “We tried to keep that out of their game.”By halftime, the Crusader lead had grown to 49-19, and Clifford had accumulated 21 points and 13 rebounds.”Mike played very well,” Connolly said. “It helped that our guards were shooting well (around him).”The Panthers came out of the break looking to climb back into the contest, and were making progress early behind senior forward Matt Tobin’s post play. The Panthers’ perimeter attack heated up as well, as they exceeded their first-half scoring in the third quarter alone.Unfortunately for Beverly, the Crusaders’ offense was also still going full steam. Fenwick matched Beverly point-for-point in the period, and the two teams went into the fourth quarter with the Crusaders leading 70-40. When the Crusaders’ starters came out with three minutes to play, the Fenwick lead was 84-53, effectively ending any thoughts of a Panther comeback.Clifford and Tobin earned MVP honors for their respective teams for their performances in the game.After the game, Connolly said his team has been playing at a high level throughout its recent winning streak.”To play like this against a good team is huge,” he said. “We shot well and we defended well. Everything just clicked.”Despite clinching a spot in the state tournament with two games remaining in the regular season, Connolly said his team would not let its guard down over the final week.”We’re going to keep playing with the same intensity,” Connolly said. “We’re not giving up.”