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Looks like a routine lay-up, right? Against Matt St. Amour (#11), it  ended up the kind of block Sportscenter shows 12 times an hour. What do you say when a player keeps making the play nobody should be able to make?

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............Seriously. That's what I had with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter of tonight's Missisquoi win over BFA-Fairfax.

7:08 was the time on the clock when Fairfax called a timeout following Matt St. Amour's sixth consecutive made three-pointer in about a five minute span.

I was the only commentator tonight for Channel 15's coverage of the game. In dozens of games I've called in the last few years and hundreds I've covered in the last 8+, I don't remember ever being speechless.

Check the tape. Take a note. Mark the calendar. On December 18, 2012, with 7:08 left in the fourth of a high school basketball game, Ben Kaufmann was speechless.

Apparently six straight 3's is the exact scenario I'm not prepared for behind the mic. I'd used up the generic calls and around the time St. Amour hit his fourth straight at the third-quarter buzzer, I used up the "I can't believe what I'm watching!" stuff.

It's not entirely that I didn't have anything to say. It's just the words in my head were probably the same as everyone else in the building and would have gotten me fired. Of course I thought about saying "Holy (4-letter word removed by editor)" after that final bomb in the third. I nearly spat out "(4-letter word removed by editor) me!" after St. Amour's fifth straight kicked off the fourth. A few seconds later, when it was clear we were watching something incredible after six in a row, I came awfully close to announcing "(String of obscenities removed by editor)"!

It wasn't just the shooting clinic leaving me searching for some words worthy of the moment. All night long (and most every night he's on the court), it's like Matt's playing a different game than the other nine guys on the floor. He sees the opponent's next move long before the opponent is even considering it. He's like the Bobby Fisher of basketball, except without all the insanity and anti-semitism (as far as I know...).

St. Amour blocked five shots tonight. I don't mean he tipped an attempt just off target five times tonight. I mean five times tonight, BFA tried to shoot and Matt anticipated, got into position, and kindly used his hands to suggest the ball try taking a long trip in the opposite direction.

St. Amour handed out six assists tonight while pulling down 14 rebounds (remember, he's never the biggest guy on the floor). Multiple passes led to a basket one pass later and if a few Thunderbird shots roll differently, the kid has a 36-point triple-double. When Fairfax called that early fourth-quarter timeout to go find a kitchen sink to throw at Matt, he began unleashing the kind of full court passes that would make you think he threw three straight complete games in last year's baseball playoffs (oh, wait, he did).

Of course, St. Amour did have one turnover tonight. And he was still nine points short of his 45 total from MVU's last game.

I've already gone over the "ball-hog"  criticism of St. Amour, so for tonight I'll just let the numbers do the talking:

13-21 (62%) from the field
7-9 (78%) from three
6 assists
14 rebounds
3 steals
1 turnover

Of course, those who say Matt has no help are misguided as well. Tyler Cooper would be making headlines on a team without St. Amour, he does all the dirty work for the good of the team. Alex Deuso reminds me of my favorite basketball teammate (Kyle Reed) -- works his butt off for rebounds and steals, drains the elbow jumper anytime someone's foolish enough to let him have it, and never complains. Alex Larose is the perfect teammate for someone like St. Amour: he gets boards, finishes open layups, and make sure nobody (one last 4 letter word removed by editor)'s with the man. Remember before David Stern overreacted in cleaning up the NBA's image, when superstars had a hockey-like enforcer? Jordan had guys like Charles Oakley and Dennis Rodman making sure nobody took a cheap shot. And Ron Artest had guys like Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal making sure he didn't go to jail alone. Larose has some of that Oakley/Rodman in him (in a good way). It's the skill of those role-players --and most importantly, their willingness to put the good of the team first-- which will make MVU a tough out for ANY team come playoff time.

But tonight was about Matt St. Amour. I remember watching St. Johnsbury eviscerate BFA-St. Albans on opening night and wondering how Matt would fare against that group. After tonight, I wouldn't worry. I went to a game in Milton last night and watched Derryk O'Grady drain 3's like it was his job during warmups. I remember thinking on the ride home that O'Grady might be a better pure shooter than Matt, might be the guy I'd choose if I needed 9 points in 90 seconds. I don't know how Matt knew what I was thinking in the car by myself last night, but apparently he was displeased.

I was talking with my dad tonight about Matt's game and his college prospects. He said, "Matt can play anywhere in college." I told him that was a little absurd, he might be able to play 1-5 in Vermont but he can hardly be a center at the next level. "No," dad clarified. "I mean he can play at any school in the country."

Dad's right. No, Matt couldn't start for a top-level Division One school tomorrow, or even next year. But after fighting through triple teams and still posting near triple-doubles while staying on pace for 2,000 career points, couldn't he focus on one skill against single coverage and excel anywhere? I'm not about to bet against him.

Don't take tonight as a knock on Fairfax. Kris Wehner is a hell of an athlete, leading Fairfax offensively tonight while guarding Matt nonstop. BFA is a Division III team, MVU is Division I, and it was a fight tonight until St. Amour channeled his inner Reggie Miller. The Bullets will be just fine. Fairfax was just the latest victim of the kind of kid who is MVU's all-time soccer goals leader, who gets great grades, is the ace of the baseball team's pitching staff and has won Champlain Country Club's Junior Club Championship. Most importantly, BFA just ran up against the kind of kid who does all that stuff in his spare time, when he's not working on his jumper.