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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

It was close for a while, but in the end it was an easy night at the office for the Callaway Cavaliers, who overwhelmed Bremen 82-53 on Thursday in the semifinals of the Region 5-AA tournament.

Callaway will host the rival Heard County Braves on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the region-championship game.

Callaway head coach Andre Johnson is hoping it’ll be a successful weekend for the school’s basketball teams.

The Callaway girls’ team will play Heard County in the region-championship game on Friday, and Johnson’s team will chase a title on Saturday.

“I used the girls as fuel to the fire,” Johnson said. “I said these girls have been winning all season, even when we were down. Now, we’re full-fledged like them. We told them, if they win, we’ll win. We’ve got a chance to do something that’s never been done in Callaway history. The girls and boys have never won region at the same time.”

In Thursday’s game, Bremen hung tough and trailed 18-14 after the first quarter, but Callaway led 38-21 at the half.

The Cavaliers put it away by outscoring the Blue Devils 26-15 in the third quarter to build a 64-36 lead.

Demetrius Coleman led the Cavaliers with 19 points, and Javontay Boddie made three 3-pointers and scored 15 points.

Devin Dowell added 12 points, Exavious Reed scored 11 points, and Jamarrion Glenn made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and had nine points.

Next up for Callaway will be Saturday’s showdown with Heard County, and they’ll play for the third time.

Callaway won at Heard County 58-49 on Jan. 19, and it won 61-54 at home on Feb. 5.

“They are going to have to play hard for four quarters,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a dogfight. You’ve got to have the mental capacity to outlast them.”