page_title: Dexter Kernich-Drew
section_title: Perth Wildcats (2016–2018)
hierarchical_section_title: Dexter Kernich-Drew / Professional career / Perth Wildcats (2016–2018)
caption_attribution_description: English: Dexter Kernich-Drew with the Perth Wildcats
context_page_description: Dexter Grant Kernich-Drew is an Australian professional basketball player for the Geelong Supercats of the NBL1. The Melbourne-born guard played four years of college basketball for Washington State before starting his professional career in 2015. After a stint in Brazil, he returned to Australia where he joined the Perth Wildcats in 2016.
context_section_description: On 29 July 2016, Kernich-Drew signed a two-year deal with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League. He joined a Wildcats team attempting to defend their title in 2016–17, after he himself was amongst the playing group during their championship run in 2015–16. Early-season injuries saw Kernich-Drew have a break-out performance in just his sixth NBL game on 28 October 2016. The three-point specialist spent a career-high 17 minutes on the court and made four of his seven attempts – all of which came from outside the arc – to finish with 14 points in an 81–76 loss to the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong. The Wildcats slumped to last on the ladder with a 7–9 record following a loss to the Adelaide 36ers on 22 December 2016. In a crucial game against Illawarra in Wollongong on New Year's Eve, Kernich-Drew emerged as an unlikely hero to inspire Perth to a crucial against-the-odds victory. He exploded for eight of his 13 points in the final term to help lead the Wildcats to a 95–87 win over the Hawks. The Wildcats went on to finish the regular season in third place with a 15–13 record and made it through to the NBL Grand Final where they faced Illawarra. In the best-of-five series, the Wildcats were successful in sweeping the Hawks 3–0 to claim their second consecutive championship and eighth in total. Kernich-Drew appeared in 29 of the team's 33 games in 2016–17, averaging 2.3 points in 5.9 minutes per game.
  On 9 May 2017, Kernich-Drew signed with the Rockingham Flames of the State Basketball League for the rest of the 2017 season. He made his debut for the Flames three days later, recording 12 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 67–64 win over the East Perth Eagles. On 19 May 2017, he scored a game-high 25 points in a 78–73 win over the Joondalup Wolves. On 27 May 2017, he recorded a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds in an 84–79 loss to the Geraldton Buccaneers. On 2 June 2017, he scored a season-high 29 points in an 88–86 loss to the Cockburn Cougars. On 8 July 2017, he set a new season high with 38 points in a 105–103 win over East Perth. On 17 July 2017, he was ruled out for the rest of the SBL season after suffering a broken jaw against the Perry Lakes Hawks three days earlier. In 10 games for the Flames, he averaged 21.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
  In the Wildcats' second game of the 2017–18 season on 13 October 2017, Kernich-Drew had 11 points in just 10 minutes against the Illawarra Hawks. He failed to surpass that mark for the rest of the season, finishing with averages of 2.2 points in 5.2 minutes per game over 21 contests. The Wildcats finished the regular season in third place with a 16–12, before losing 2–0 to the Adelaide 36ers in the semi-finals. Following the 2017–18 NBL season, Kernich-Drew played in the Rockingham Flames' 2018 season opener.
caption: Kernich-Drew in October 2017
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