2017-18 Men's Basketball Roster
Roster
Nate Sestina
- Position:
- Forward/Center
- Height:
- 6-9
- Weight:
- 247
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Emporium, Pa.
- High School:
- Cameron County
Big, strong frontcourt player who blossomed into a Division I recruit as his prep career progressed ... attended a very small high school, but turned heads on the AAU and summer camp circuits ... versatile player who can score in the post or out on the perimeter ... has good quickness for a player of his size ... has a tremendous attitude and still a load of potential ... traveled to Spain in the summer of 2016 for a basketball tour with Global Sports Academy ... career FG% of .537 is 9th-best in school history.
2018-19
Second Team All-Patriot League and PL All-Tournament selection ... NABC All-District selection ... also a Preseason All-Patriot League selection, despite never having started a game entering the year ... ranked 2nd on the team and 6th in the PL in scoring at 15.8 ppg ... led the team and ranked 2nd in PL in rebounding at 8.5 rpg ... shot 53.6 FG%, 38.0 3FG% (41-108), 80.8 FT% ... in PL rankings was also 6th in FG%, 8th in FT%, 5th in blocked shots (1.1) ... played in 31 of 33 games, missing 2G to injury early in the year ... scored in double figures in 27 of his 31G and had 11 double-doubles ... had a fun homecoming on opening night at St. Bonaventure, posting 15 pts. and a then-career-high 16 reb. in an OT win ... made his first career start in the game and had a key reverse layup in the final minute of OT to stretch a 1-pt. lead to 3 ... the performance came in a gym about 50 miles from his hometown, where he grew up playing AAU ball and watching St. Bonaventure games ... missed Fairfield and Canisius games due to injury ... returned to action at Vermont and tallied 20 pts. with 10 reb. in a win ... made it 3 double-doubles in 4 games with 16 pts., 10 reb. along with 3 blk. in home win over Monmouth ... 24 pts. (8-12 FG, 1-2 3FG, 7-9 FT) in win at La Salle ... scored 15 pts. in 2nd half to help Bucknell pull away ... also set personal bests for FGM and FGA ... scored 10 pts. at Ohio State but was limited to 13 min. due to foul trouble ... named to All-Tournament Team at Diamond Head Classic after averaging 15.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg in Bucknell’s third-place showing ... had 16 pts., 10 reb. vs. Rhode Island, 14 pts., 11 reb. vs. TCU, and 15 pts., 6 reb. vs. UNLV ... huge game in comeback win at Army with 22 pts. (9-17 FG, 4-8 3FG, all career highs), 12 reb. ... with Bucknell trailing by 26 pts., scored 17 pts. (7-7 FG, 3-3 3FG) in a span of 5:17 early in 2nd half to spark a huge rally ... his defensive rebound and outlet let to the winning layup by Avi Toomer with 1.6 seconds left ... 27 pts. (10-15 FG, 5-7 3FG, 2-2 FT) along with 9 reb., 3 asst. at Boston University ... named Patriot League Player of the Week and Bison Athlete of the week after averaging 24.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg against Army and Boston U. ... hit a game-tying 3FG with 2:42 to play and the go-ahead 3FG with 1:17 remaining in a 55-54 win over American ... had a record-setting night in a home win over Holy Cross ... scored a career-high 32 pts. (11-11 FG, 1-1 3FG, 9-10 FT) and broke the school record for most FGs in a game without a miss ... broke Donald Brown’s mark of 10-for-10, done exactly 15 years earlier to the day ... 11-for-11 also tied the Patriot League record, set earlier in the year by Army’s Matt Wilson against UMass-Lowell ... named Bison Athlete of the Week for the 2nd time in 3 weeks on 1/21 ... had his way in blowout win at Lafayette, scoring 22 pts. (10-12 FG) in just 21 min. ... made it 2 straight 22-pt. games in win at Loyola ... scored 25 pts. in 25 min. (10-15 FG, 4-6 3FG) along with 11 reb., 3 asst. in home win over Boston U. ... double-double with 15 pts., 10 reb. in 24 min. in home win over Lehigh ... scored 15 of 17 pts. in 2nd half and added 15 reb., 3 asst. at Holy Cross ... grabbed 12 reb. and blocked a career-high 4 shots at Navy ... had 4 blks. again and grabbed a career-high 17 reb. along with 10 pts. in Senior Day win over Army ... 14 pts., 9 reb., 2 blk. in PL quarterfinal win over Holy Cross ... huge game in PL semifinal win over Lehigh with 23 pts., 14 reb., 4 asst. ... had 14 pts., 9 reb. in decisive 2nd half ... scored 21 pts. (7-12 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4-5 FT) in PL championship game at Colgate ... in 3 PL Tournament games averaged 19.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg,
2017-18
Enjoyed a productive junior year, particularly in the postseason ... played in 34 games, missing one due to injury ... averaged 6.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, in 14.9 mpg ... shot 56.0 FG%, 34.1 3FG%, 74.4 FT% ... had a strong second half and finished with 7 pts., 6 reb. at North Carolina ... scored all 7 pts. in a seven-minute span in the second half to keep the Bison close ... scored 10 pts. in the first half and finished with a career-high 14 (6-7 FG) in a home rout of Siena ... tallied 10 pts. in home win over Vermont ... hit critical 3FGs on back-to-back possessions in the final 5:00 ... hit 5-7 FG and scored 12 pts. at Northeastern ... terrific off bench at Richmond with 10 pts., 7 reb., 2 asst. in 16 min. ... in PL opener vs. American had 4 pts. on 2 thunderous dunks, had 5 reb. and career-high 4 asst. in 19 min. ... big game at home vs. Boston University with 14 pts. (6-8 FG), 8 reb. ... missed game at Army with hip strain, but returned for next game at Lafayette ... monster game in home win over Loyola with career-high 18 pts. (7-9 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-5 FT), 4 reb., 3 blk. ... in PL semifinal win over Boston U. had 7 pts., 8 reb., 5 asst., 1 blk. in 17. min. ... totaled 20 reb. in 3G vs. Boston U. ... one of the stars of the PL championship game vs. Colgate, finishing with 16 pts. (7-9 FG, 1-2 3FG, 1-1 FT), 4 reb., 2 blk. ... had 12 pts. in 1st half, including 10 of team’s 1st 21 as the Bison got out to a slow start ... 7 pts. (3-4 FG), 7 reb. in NCAA Tournament game vs. Michigan State ... in 4 postseason games, made 14-19 FG (.737) and totaled 32 pts., 20 reb.
2016-17
After missing most of his rookie year with an injury, became a vital member of the frontcourt rotation ... played in 31 games off the bench, averaging 4.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg ... shot 50.8 FG%, 29.2 3FG%, 69.6 FT% ... double-digit minutes in 22 games, with a high of 22 at Siena ... missed 4G in February (illness) ... ranked 12th in Patriot League in blocked shots (0.5 bpg) ... was the first sub off the bench on opening night vs. Manhattan and logged 10 pts. (3-6 FG, 4-4 FT), 4 reb. in 15 min. ... set career high with 12 pts. (5-8 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1-1 FT) in just 12 min. at Wake Forest ... went 5-5 FG and had 10 pts. in only 7 min. vs. Robert Morris ... 5 pts., 4 reb., 2 asst. in 16 min. in win at Vanderbilt ... grabbed 4 offensive rebs. (5 total) and scored 8 pts. in 15 min. vs. Norfolk State ... had 7 pts., 5 reb. in win over Northern Colorado ... career-high 9 reb. at Siena ... made all 4 FGA and had 8 pts. in 7 min. in home win over Mount St. Mary’s ... tallied 10 pts. (5-5 FG), 7 reb. in just 11 min. in road win at Holy Cross ... in 2nd game back, had 7 pts., 9 reb., 3 asst. in home win over Lafayette ... finished regular-season with 11 pts. (5-7 FG, 1-1 3FG), 4 reb. in 14 min. vs. Navy ... had 5 pts., team-high 6 reb. in PL Semi win over Navy ... important role in PL final win over Lehigh, scoring 8 pts. (4-6 FG) in 11 min.
2015-16
Had his rookie season end prematurely due to a shoulder injury just as he was working his way into the rotation ... played in 4 games, with the last coming against Navy on Dec. 30 when he suffered the season-ending injury ... saw 7 min. of action on opening night vs. Shenandoah and recorded 2 pts., 2 reb., 2 asst. ... hit his first career 3FG at Princeton ... had a breakout game vs. Fairfield with 10 pts. (4-5 FG, 1-1 3FG, 1-1 FT), 2 stl. in 16 min. ... played 6 min. vs. Navy the next time out and went down with the injury.
HIGH SCHOOL/PERSONAL
Full name is Nathan Michael Sestina ... born May 12, 1997 in St. Mary’s, Pa. ... parents are Donald and Rachelle Sestina ... youngest of five siblings (Jennifer, Jason, Kristin, Andrew) ... Andrew played basketball at Allegheny College ... mother was a swimmer at IUP ... grandfather, Richard Gaydos, played football at Carnegie Tech ... four-year basketball letterman at Cameron County High School ... first Division I player from Cameron County since the 1970s ... averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game and had 26 double-doubles in 28 games as a senior, when he earned first team all-state , all-district and all-league honors ... Big 30 and North Tier Player of the Year ... District 9 Co-Player of the Year ... named MVP of the Big 30 and District 9 All-Star Games ... had 28 points and 22 rebounds in the Big 30 game and 39 points and 17 rebounds in the D9 game ... helped team to two straight league titles ... as a senior his team was District 9 runner-up and a Sweet Sixteen participant in the state playoffs ... team won a game in the state tournament for the first time since 1972 ... finished with 1,703 career points and 955 rebounds ... broke his sister Kristin’s school rebounding record ... played AAU basketball at a national level ... averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds for Basketball Stars of America the summer before signing with Bucknell ... geography major ... member of 2019 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
