If you’re looking for barometers, there were two huge ones on the North Shore Monday night.First, there was the Bishop Fenwick-St. John’s Prep boys basketball game – the final of the North Shore Invitational. This game had to be the realization of every dream that Corporate Design Insurance Agency president Mike O’Brien ever had when he put this tournament together 12 years ago. You had two good teams, two friends coaching against each other, an 18-1 team that actually had something to prove ? and, to top it all off, a kid going for point No. 1,000 in his career.St. John’s has, for the most part, dominated this tournament. The Eagles have won eight of the 11 previous championships, including the last two, and you could almost say the NSI is the high school equivalent of the Beanpot, with The Prep serving as Boston University.But this year, Bishop Fenwick came roaring into the tourney with only one loss – a league defeat at the hands of Cathedral (which was busy beating Lynn Tech Monday at the Reggie Lewis Center) – and a perfect opportunity to show everyone it could play on the big stage.There were, of course, two other major subplots. Prep coach Sean Connolly is one of the most luminous stars Fenwick has ever had on the hardwood; and he had coached the Crusaders the previous three seasons (including 2006, when Fenwick stunned The Prep on its own floor in the NSI). His replacement at Fenwick, Mike Kane, is also among his best friends. And, of course, Fenwick’s Nolan DiPanfilo, a Saugus resident, needed 11 points to hit the 1,000 mark.This all combined to produce easily the biggest house O’Brien’s ever had for a game in this tournament. The Danvers High gym was overflowing. The stands were full and even the SRO areas were bursting at the seams.The question, of course, was how 6-7 Fenwick center Mike Clifford would fare against The Prep’s unusually tall frontcourt troika of Mike Hall (7 feet), Sam Baker (6-6) and Ryan Canty (6-8).Very well, as it turned out ? after Kane and the Crusaders figured out what Connolly was up to. The terminology may vary (Kane called it a diamond-and-one; others would call it a box-and-one), but the upshot was that Clifford had two giants in his face at all times, which, coupled with the backcourt’s streaky shooting, presented a challenge for him. Still, even with DiPanfilo misfiring for most of the second quarter, Clifford had nine points by halftime.Once DiPanfilo got the 1,000 monkey off his back in the third quarter (sinking a free throw), he could relax, and the shots started falling. Also, captain Nick Cotoia had a steady game (finishing with 13), and that extended The Prep on defense, and allowed Clifford to absolutely dominate the second half. The 72-56 final score was completely indicative of the way the game unfolded.So, the final word on this game: Look out, Division 3 North. Fenwick looks ready to make it at least to the Tsongas Arena this year. The Crusaders have clinched the No. 1 seed.Earlier Monday evening, Lowell came to town for a date with English (the second half of the home-and-home is today at 3, in Lowell). And even though English won (68-63), the biggest lesson coach Buzzy Barton and the Bulldogs learned was that, like most teams, they’re vulnerable to an effective, sustained full-court trap.This shouldn’t alarm anyone. Most teams are vulnerable to the type of trap Lowell threw up in the fourth quarter to whittle a 20-point deficit down to five. The Red Raiders’ trap was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. There isn’t a team in the Northeastern Conference – except for, maybe, the Bulldogs themselves – that could throw up a similar trap, so it’s doubtful Barton or the ‘Dogs have seen anything that intense, except maybe for the two Everett games – and they were too close to warrant that type of furious, sustained pressure.Beating the trap is like beating a blitz in football. Pick up the blitz, you’ll probably complete a long pass. Beat the trap and you’ll get easy baskets.P