The most amazing thing about the Boyd Anderson boys' basketball team isn't the way the Cobras fly up the court.

It's the way they fly backward.

''We talk about it all the time,'' coach Eugene Richardson said. ``We have to get back on defense because of our size. We're small, and we have to get back and help each other.''

They're small. They're quick. And -- at least to this point -- they're unbeatable.

The coast-to-coast Cobras won their 17th game in a row Friday night at home, running away 65-52 against St. Thomas Aquinas, a formidable team that is somehow getting better and better because of its football players.

The Raiders (12-7) are ranked 10th in the state in the Class 5A poll, they and might be good enough to make a run at a state title. But they live in the same town with Dillard, the defending 5A state champ and current No. 1 ranked team in its class.

The Raiders' problem Friday was speed.

''That's our game, to push the ball up the court and to keep it an up-tempo game and keep pressure on the other team,'' said Richardson, whose team -- the No. 1 Class 6A team and ranked No. 18 in the nation -- forced 21 turnovers, including a dozen steals.

Tyron Davis, a 5-5 whirlwind who runs the team, had five of those steals and 10 assists, including a handful of highlight-tape passes.

Aquinas kept it close until midway in the second quarter, when the Cobras hit the gas and ran off a 12-2 spurt to leap ahead 32-19, thanks to Martavious Irving, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half. He also added a big block during the 12-2 run.

Bryan Bynes then made a three-pointer to make it 35-21, and Aquinas didn't get closer than 12 points after that.

Cedric Flood scored eight of his 16 points in the second quarter, and BA went to the half leading 37-23. The Cobras ripped off another quick run and jumped out to a 49-29 lead with 3:30 left in the third quarter when Bynes hit back-to-back threes. He finished with 14 points.

Aquinas made a run to start the fourth when BA missed its first seven shots, closing to 56-44 when Dylan O'Sullivan hit a three-pointer with about four minutes left. But Irving, who went 8 of 11 from the field, scored on three drives in a row to lift BA again.

Daniel Munoz hit two three-pointers in the fourth to finish with 15 points for Aquinas, and O'Sullivan had 12, but in the end it was just another sprint for the Cobras.

-- MIKE PHILLIPS

• Boyd Anderson 64, St. Thomas Aquinas 52 - St. Thomas: Munoz 15, White 6, Southward 4, O'Sullivan 10, Holmes 7, Bailey 10. Boyd (16-0): Bynes 14, Irving 20, Davis 4, Flood 16, Elliott 3, Ferguson 3, Metellus 3, Davin 2. Halftime: BA 37-23. Technicals: Southward. Three-pointers: Bynes 3, Munoz 3, O'Sullivan 2, Bailey, Metellus. Rebounds: Davin 6. Assists: Davis 10. Steals: Davis 5.

MORE BOYS' BASKETBALL

• Ft. Lauderdale 43, West Broward 37 -- FTL: Horton 1, Saint Syr, Whittingham 3, Buchanan 9, Houston 4, Harden 8, Emmonid 3. WB (1-12): Musser 14, Chalice 13, Clark 4, Hayne 2, Bradley 2, Alvarez 2. Halftime: FTL 21-18. Three-pointers: Saint Syr 1, Musser 2, Chalice 2. Rebounds: Bradley 7. Assists: Chalice 3.

• South Broward 56, Western 47 - South Broward: Morford 6, Brown 7, Mercado 17, Pascal 18, Nelson 2, Balarake 2, Daniel 4. Western (10-8): Roberti 18, Blatcher 5, Weigel 17, Feliciano 3, Namin 4. Halftime: SB 31-13. Three-pointers: Morford 2, Mercado 3, Pascal 2, Roberti 3, Blatcher, Weigel 5. Rebounds: Feliciano 12. Assists: Blatcher 6. Steals: Weigel 3.

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