The history of Le Moyne Dolphins men's basketball from 1988 to 1992 includes the final four years of the head coaching tenure of John Beilein. The Dolphins had winning records in each of these four seasons, compiling a 66–45 record, but displayed inconsistency and failed to reach the postseason. Despite frequent feuding between Len Rauch and Beilein, Rauch became the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder and was 1991 third-team Division II All-America, the first player in program history to be named an All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Freshman and future Le Moyne Athletic Hall of Famer Mike Montesano arrived on campus in Beilein's final season and was Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) co-rookie of the year. Beilein resigned after the season to become the head coach at Division I Canisius. He finished his nine-year career at Le Moyne 163–94. Beilein's .634 winning percentage was the best for any Dolphins head coach up to that point.
Slow start, strong finish and emergence of Rauch (1988–1989) The Dolphins lost senior co-captains Scott Hicks and Pete Jerebko to graduation in 1988. Seniors Dave Niland and Steve Lauer, juniors Russell Barnes, Jim Cunningham and Paul Rooney and sophomores Len Rauch, Julius Edwards, Andy Bechtle and Matt Lucas all returned. Freshman Bob Piddock, a 6'4" forward from South Jefferson High School in Adams, New York, was Le Moyne's top recruit. Two walk-on freshman guards made the team: Jeffrey Heller, 6'2", and John Peyrebrune, 5'10". Tom Herhusky, a 6'2" point guard, transferred from St. Lawrence to Le Moyne during the offseason, but he was required to sit out the 1988–89 season by NCAA rules. Herhusky graduated a year earlier than Piddock, but the two were high school teammates, and Herhusky said he wanted to be reunited with Piddock. He also cited Le Moyne's academic offerings and the availability of an athletic scholarship as reasons for the transfer. Niland and Lauer were named co-captains. Jim Emery was hired as an assistant coach in October 1988. Emery had been an assistant at George Mason since 1985, and had previously been Dolphins head coach John Beilein's assistant at Nazareth in 1982.
The Dolphins opened their 1988–89 season with a 73–70 overtime loss to Belmont Abbey in the Randolph–Macon Tournament, which was actually a multi-team showcase event despite its name, on November 18. After getting into foul trouble early, Len Rauch led Le Moyne with 16 points. The following evening, the Dolphins lost to host Randolph–Macon, 60–53. Rauch scored 13 points to lead Le Moyne.
On December 3, Siena visited Le Moyne for the first time since March 4, 1976. Despite a 26-point and 13-rebound performance by Len Rauch, Siena overwhelmed the Dolphins, 91–52, dropping Le Moyne's record to 1–3 on the season.
The Dolphins hosted the 1988 New York Coca-Cola Classic and seized control of their opening-round game against defending ECAC Division II tournament champion Dowling early, cruising to an 84–70 victory on December 9. Len Rauch had a double-double to lead Le Moyne with 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Russell Barnes had 15 points and nine assists, and Julius Edwards added 17 points. In the championship game the following evening, the Dolphins failed to score until five minutes had elapsed and fell behind early. A late first-half rally sparked by Dave Niland cut Cheyney's halftime lead to six points. However, the Wolves scored the first 10 points of the second half and led 45–28 with 15 minutes to play. The Dolphins' comeback began with a Rauch layup following an offensive rebound. Le Moyne then began forcing turnovers, blocking shots, controlling the boards and hitting shots of their own. When Paul Rooney hot a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining, the Dolphins had a 63–61 lead and were on a 35–16 run over 14 minutes. Cheyney responded with a three-point play to regain the lead. Rauch was fouled on Le Moyne's final possession with 12 seconds to play, and he hit both free throws. The Wolves' final desperation heave fell short, and the Dolphins had a 65–64 victory and the tournament title. The win improved Le Moyne's record to 4–3 on the season.
Russell Barnes scored 18 points, and freshman Bob Piddock added 12 to lead the Dolphins to an 81–70 victory over American International in the opening round of the Doc Jacobs Classic on December 29. The following evening, Le Moyne fell 14 points behind host Saint Michael's in the first half before closing the gap to just six points at intermission. In the second half, the Purple Knights built nine-point leads on six separate occasions, only to see the Dolphins respond and tie the score each time. Trailing by nine points, 74–65, a seventh time with three minutes to play, Le Moyne mounted a final charge. Paul Rooney hit a three-pointer, and Len Rauch completed a three point play to cut the lead to three points. After a stop on the defensive end, the Dolphins moved within a point, when Rooney scored from the paint with 1:02 to play. After the Dolphins got another stop, Rauch was called for an offensive foul. Le Moyne then forced a turnover, when the Saint Michael's lost the ball out of bounds. Russell Barnes was poised to take the final shot, but he was stripped from behind by Greg Thomas, who dribbled out the clock and preserved a 74–73 win for the Purple Knights. Rauch had 17 points and nine rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.
The Dolphins lost their fifth straight game, when they fell at home to Philadelphia Textile, 73–60, on January 14, 1989, dropping to 5–8 overall and 0–4 in Mideast Collegiate Conference (MECC) play. Len Rauch scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds but continued his recent erratic play. Le Moyne guards Russell Barnes, Julius Edwards and Dave Niland combined for only 13 points. The Dolphins led, 48–46, with 9:18 to play but were outscored, 27–12, down the stretch. Two days later, Rauch scored 30 points, and the Dolphins erased an eight-point second-half deficit with a 17–4 run, winning, 80–79, at Mansfield.
Len Rauch had a triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in the Dolphins' 96–80 home romp over Adelphi on January 27. Le Moyne used runs of 15–0 and 14–0 to build a 24-point lead late in the first half. Sophomore Andy Bechtle made his first collegiate start as the Dolphins' power forward and scored 10 points in the first minutes of the game, finishing with 12 markers. Freshman Bob Piddock led Le Moyne with 18 points, seven of them coming during the Dolphins' 14–0 first-half burst. Le Moyne's 2-3 zone defense limited the Panthers to 35% shooting from the floor in the first half. Adelphi applied a pressing defense late in the second half, forcing Le Moyne turnovers and pulling within nine points at 83–74 with 1:54 to play, but the Panthers got no closer. The win improved the Dolphins' record to 9–9 overall and 2–4 in MECC play.
The Dolphins' man-to-man defense generated transition opportunities, and Le Moyne claimed a 26–12 lead midway through the first half of their January 31 home game against Gannon, ranked no. 12 in Division II. The Golden Knights used their size advantage to cut Le Moyne's lead to four points in the second half, but the Dolphins responded with an 18–9 run that put them ahead, 66–53, with 8:35 to play. Le Moyne stopped driving to the basket and tried to milk the clock, but the Dolphins went cold from the perimeter. They had only one field goal over the final 5:45 of the game. That basket was scored by Russell Barnes with 15 seconds remaining and gave the Dolphins an 85–79 lead, icing the game. Barnes and Len Rauch each had a double-double for Le Moyne. Barnes finished with 10 points and 10 assists. Rauch scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Julius Edwards guarded Gannon's leading scorer, Chris Hollan, holding him to just 5-for-12 shooting from the floor, and scored 25 points to lead the Dolphins, who improved to 10–9 overall and 3–4 in MECC play.
The Dolphins dropped a critical decision at home against Pace, 79–78 in double overtime, on February 4. The Setters started the game slowly, having arrived only 20 minutes before tip-off, after spending five hours in a Burger King while mechanical trouble with their bus from Buffalo was addressed. The Dolphins quickly built a seven-point lead in less than nine minutes, and they extended that lead to 12 points with 15 minutes remaining. Pace's offense heated up from there, and the Setters took their first lead of the game with six minutes to play. The Dolphins led, 61–59, in the final minute, but the Setters tied the score on a pair of free throws. Julius Edwards fired a long jump shot at the buzzer that was off the mark. The Dolphins led by as many as five points in the first overtime period, but Pace battled back and tied the score in the closing minute. Russell Barnes attempted a three-pointer that was off the mark at the buzzer, sending the game to a second overtime. Le Moyne was protecting a one-point lead, when Rodney Reese hit an off-balance jump shot with two seconds on the clock to win the game for Pace. A win would have put the Dolphins into a three-way tie with Adelphi and Pace for third place in the MECC. The third- and fourth-place finishers were to play their MECC tournament quarterfinal games at home. Instead, Le Moyne was fifth in the league standings at 3–5, and Pace had earned the tiebreaker advantage over the Dolphins by sweeping the season series.
After 18 straight losses versus Division I opponents, a streak that began in 1977, Le Moyne got 22 points from Andy Bechtle and overcame a five-point deficit with just over 10 minutes to play to defeat Army, 77–70, on February 7, at West Point. The win was Le Moyne's 65th all-time over a Division I/major program, and it would ultimately prove to be the final time Le Moyne defeated a Division I team as a Division II program.
Len Rauch had a triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the Dolphins to their fifth straight win, 94–73, over Buffalo on February 22. The victory was Le Moyne's 10th in their last 12 games, improving their record to 15–10 overall and 6–5 in MECC play, tied for fourth place with Adelphi. The Dolphins still had a chance at the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the MECC quarterfinals. Seniors Dave Niland and Steve Lauer left the floor in their final regular-season home game to a rousing ovation with 57 seconds remaining.
Entering their regular-season finale at Philadelphia Textile, ranked no. 16 in Division II, on February 25, the Dolphins would be assured of home-court advantage for the MECC tournament quarterfinals with a win and a Buffalo win over last-place Mercyhurst. A Gannon win over Adelphi the following day would also have given the Dolphins the fourth seed in the MECC tournament. The regular-season champion Rams built a 12-point lead in the game's first 12 minutes, and Le Moyne never got closer than five points down the rest of the way, and Philadelphia Textile cruised to an 86–61 victory. Len Rauch scored 17 points to lead Le Moyne. The following day, Adelphi defeated Gannon, 79–76, clinching the third seed in the MECC tournament and sealing Le Moyne into the fifth seed.
The Dolphins were dominated in their MECC quarterfinal game at Pace, losing 79–61 on March 4. Andy Bechtle scored 13 points to lead Le Moyne. The Dolphins finished the 1988–89 season 15–12.
Len Rauch was named 1989 MECC sophomore of the year. Rauch was also named to the Division II All-East team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Herhusky scores while Beilein and Rauch feud (1989–1990)