It doesn’t matter that the Dawsonville Shooting Stars came up a few points short in Friday night’s game, because everyone wins when the Harlem Ambassadors come to town.

The Harlem Ambassadors, a comedic professional basketball show team that travels the globe for fundraising events, entertained a gymnasium of more than 300 at Dawson County High School.

Based in Colorado, the Ambassadors offer a unique blend of family fun basketball that features high flying slamdunks, dazzling ball-handing tricks and hilarious comedy routines.

The event served as a fundraiser for the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce.

After watching the exhibition team for about 30 minutes before the game, players on the Shooting Stars questioned why they agreed to play. 

In the end, even with a 50 point head start, the Ambassadors still came out ahead.

“We were all out of our elements and they picked on us a little,” said Shooting Star Mike Underwood. “We knew we were going to lose going in to it, but it was fun to be a part of.”

Lade Majic, coach for the Harlem Ambassadors, kept both the spectators and her opponents laughing at her team’s antics during the game, which was put on by the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce.

“We all had a lot of fun,” said Will Wade, coach for the Shooting Stars. “We got to laugh at ourselves and laugh a lot at each other.”

Underwood, who serves as chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, was one of several volunteer players who became targets of laughter during the game.

Underwood, Associate Magistrate Judge Tony Tarnacki and Dawsonville City Councilman Calvin Byrd were awarded “Best Attitude” honors by Wade for “being such great sports.”

Karen Spencer, Stephanie Sosebee, Billy Thurmond, Jason Knight and TJ Day were the Shooting Stars’ high scorers.

“It was just a great show,” said Marty Williams, vice president of the chamber. “We had a lot of great volunteers that made it such a success and I think everyone got their money’s worth and went home happy.”