ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — It was already set up to be one of the most memorable nights of Nate Sestina’s collegiate career.
After all, the Cameron County product was playing at the Reilly Center in front of over 300 family and friends against a team that he had grown up rooting for in a place with plenty of connections.
And then the actual game happened.
In a thrilling season-opening contest, Sestina poured in 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead Bucknell to a 88-85 overtime upset victory over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night.
The results, and his statline, were just icing on the cake to what was already going to be a magical night for the former Big 30 and District 9 Player of the Year.
“During warmups, Coach (John) Griffin told me to relax about 45 times,” Sestina said. “I looked into the stands and saw my family and basically see my whole town up there. It really gets to you, but I was doing my best to kind of stay relaxed.”
Once the game began, those nerves had disappeared and Sestina looked as though he was back playing for the Red Raiders.
The preseason All-Patriot League selection had a monster first half, leading the Bison with nine points and four rebounds on three-of-six shooting. He was a lone bright spot for an offense that struggled to just 31 points over the first 20 minutes.
“We knew it was going to be a big thing for him, and we knew how many people were coming up,” Bucknell head coach Nathan Davis said after the game. “Growing up with (Mark) Schmidt’s kid and playing AAU ball here, it was a big deal for him and it’s nice to see him having success.”
Sestina’s first half dominance in the paint carried over for the rest of the night. With 9:44 remaining in the game, the 6-9, 245-pound forward had already picked up a double-double and was playing stout defense, as well. He limited Bona center Amadi Ikpeze to just five points, and was a big reason the Bonnies’ big man fouled out with less than three minutes to go in regulation.
“I just did my best to play confidently,” he said. “We came in here and we knew it was going to be hard. They’re a good team — a tournament team — returning a lot of guys. (Coach Griffin) has been on my case the entire preseason about getting boards with two hands and I told myself ‘Alright, I’m not going to let anybody out-rebound me today.’”
Sestina tallied just four points following his double-double, but scored one of the biggest baskets of his life with the game on the line in overtime.
With his team leading by just a point, Sestina banked in a tough up-and-under shot in the paint to give the Bison a three-point advantage and to put his team up by three with 58 seconds to go.
And although he grew up just 57 miles away from St. Bonaventure, there weren’t many cheers when that shot went in — or at all on Wednesday — particularly from the raucous student section.
“It was crazy getting booed,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting that because I’m used to people cheering for me.”
The more Sestina scored and gobbled up rebounds, and the louder those students got, the more he reminisced about his memories watching the Bonnies as a kid.
“Love it; it’s good to shut those guys up,” he said. “I’ll tell you what, their fans are awesome. That’s one thing I remember from when I was a little kid coming up here to games was their fans always heckling guys. During warmups they were talking about me and saying my haircut sucks and I’m ugly and I think it was so funny because those guys were making me laugh.
“They were telling me Pennsylvania basketball sucks, that Cameron County is terrible. They definitely know who you are. But it’s fun, and I remember I hit a free throw and I (shushed them) and I did my best to chirp back a little bit.”
While he may not have felt the love from the students, he certainly got it from the surrounding community. Looking up in the crowd during the game, it wasn’t hard to spot players and coaches from area schools such as Coudersport, Smethport and Bradford. While some were certainly eager to see the Bonnies and their 2018 home opener, the main draw on Wednesday evening was the local boy from Emporium.
“I think everybody is going to be proud, win or lose,” he said. “But coming out of here with a win against a team like this when we have a team like we do where everyone thinks that we’re going to be terrible because we lost those three guys, I think it’s going to be good for us.”
“When I see (my family) I know my dad is going to be amped. My sisters came from Pittsburgh and Gettysburg to watch me play so it’s a big deal for me.”
Going forward this season, Sestina may be the most vital piece to a Bucknell team that has won 51 games and made two straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
While Sestina played a reserve role those last two years, his coach thinks that Wednesday’s performance proved that the kid with so much local success is ready for the bright lights.
“Earlier in his career, he had some injuries and he played the same position as two of our guys who got invited to the Summer League last year so it was hard to get him on the floor as much as I would like to,” Davis said. “But he kept at it, he was a great teammate that worked hard everyday, and he has really improved. He’s got a chance to keep doing so for the rest of the year.”
