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Steamboat Springs — They laughed as often as they shot, involved the crowd whenever possible and even tried to mix in some fancy dribbling.

The fact that some of their shots clanked off the rim, some of their passes flew out of bounds and, well, the loss made it evident that these weren't the Harlem Globetrotters.

Still, the Denver Broncos Alumni who suited up to play a charity game of basketball Saturday morning at Steamboat Springs High School proved to be plenty popular with a crowd of locals, and they were hounded for autographs after the game ended.

The event raised money for the Steamboat booster club, which supports high school and middle school athletics.

"We always love to come up here," former Broncos wide receiver Mark Jackson said. "It's a great opportunity to get out and let people see a little piece of the Broncos and for us to help support a local cause."

The group battled with a collection of current and former Steamboat Springs students.

In the end, the Sailors proved to be the San Francisco 49ers to the Broncos' John Elway, winning the game, 67-59.

After falling behind, 14-6, in the first quarter, Steamboat was red hot for the rest of the game. Sailors juniors Alan Capistron and Justin Anderson drained 3-point shots all through the second half. They led the team to a fat second-half lead.

The Broncos, their effort supplemented by a few Sailors of their own, responded, but the Steamboat All Stars held on for the eight-point victory.

"It was a lot of fun," Capistron said. "It was really hard playing against those guys that were so much taller, but we might have been quicker than they were."

A win against the Broncos Alumni was something to take pride in, though as the game wore on, both sides began taking things a little less seriously.

The older Broncos didn't always bother to run back and play defense, instead hanging down near their own basket to catch their breath and wait for a cherry-picking opportunity.

Jackson intercepted one pass in the paint in front of Steamboat's basket, and rather than quickly rush down for a layup, he passed it right back for two easy Steamboat points.

The Broncos definitely had the ref - Steamboat Springs High School girls basketball coach John Ameen - in their pocket. The Sailors were repeatedly whistled for phantom fouls so egregious Bobby Knight would have burned the building down.

It didn't result in any easy free throws, however, as the Broncos went into the stands to find children and other fans to take all of their charity tosses.

"I don't really play any basketball, but my brother's teaching me," 7-year-old Kyle Taulman said after the former Broncos lifted him from his wheelchair and up to the rim to put home one of their free throws.

"That was a lot of fun," Kyle said.