It didn&8217;t take long for the University of Montevallo to become synonymous with the Gulf South Conference Men&8217;s Basketball Tournament.

After joining the GSC in 1995, it was seven years before a Montevallo men&8217;s basketball team appeared in the tournament. It was one-and-out in 2002, but two years later a new head coach, Danny Young, led the Falcons not only to their first win in the Bancorp South Center in Tupelo, Miss., but a tournament championship.

Now three years later, Young and his All-American senior Marcus Kennedy are looking for their fourth-consecutive championship game and third tournament title.

The Falcons enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and with a 13-game win streak, the first time they have carried a streak of more than three games into the tournament.

Win number 13 came Saturday with Young&8217;s first win at the University of West Alabama.

&8220;It was a big game for us,&8221; Young said. &8220;Every game is a must win if we want any chance of hosting a (NCAA Division II) regional. If we want the (South) regional at our place we&8217;ve got to win out.&8221;

The Falcons enjoy a first round bye until Friday, when they will meet either the State University of West Georgia or Ouachita Baptist University at 5:30 p.m.

&8220;I don&8217;t know what to expect the first game. Both teams are around .500 on the season. Right now everybody&8217;s record is 0-0,&8221; Young said.

A tournament win for Young and Kennedy will be the first time a senior class has won three titles in a four-year span,

since Coach Rand Chappell won three straight at Henderson State University from 1999-2001. It will also be only the second time since the tournament began in 1981 that a team has appeared in four-straight championship games. Delta State University appeared in five-straight from 1995-1999, winning twice.

Semifinals will be played Saturday at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. with the championship on Sunday at 2:45 p.m.

A new facility

The 2006-07 GSC Tournament is the first to call the Desoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss. home.

After six years in Tupelo, Miss., the GSC announced last spring that this year&8217;s tournament would be moved to Southaven

Following along

Tournament games will be broadcast live via an Internet broadband video stream, along with live statistics on www.gulfsouthconference.org.

The championship will be carried live on CSS and Cox Sports.

UM games will be broadcast live with Montevallo Internet radio on www.montevallo.edu/athletics