Seven South Bend Police Department cars surrounded Benchwarmer's Sports Lounge at 1 a.m. Thursday as officers cited an estimated 50-60 Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students on minor in a tavern charges.

Students outside the bar said police arrived around midnight and began carding students inside the bar.

In a previous bar bust at Finnigan's Irish Pub on Oct. 12, police shut down the bar and carded everyone. At Benchwarmer's, however, the music played and the lights flashed as police moved through the dance floor carding patrons.

"I was just getting my groove on and they hit me on the dance floor," one cited student who declined to give his name said. "I told the guy, `I turn 21 on Feb. 5.' And he said "oh wow, I got busted seven days before my 21st birthday but I don't care."

According to student reports, three police officers arrived at midnight and stood in the middle of the bar. Other officers were stationed near the door.

"At first there were just three and they were just standing around and it looked like they were going to let people walk about right then," another cited student said.

As the evening progressed, the officers began stopping patrons and asking for identification. They also stationed officers outside the bathrooms and carded every person who went in or out.

This is the second time this school year that numerous underage students have been cited. The Oct. 12 bust at Finnigan's yielded 147 Minor in a Tavern citations — including one for All-American basketball player Troy Murphy. Students did not know if any athletes were caught at Benchwarmer's but did express shock that two bars were raided in the same school year.

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