Third-seeded Stanford (25-11) will meet Minnesota or Washington in the NIT final Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Brooklyn native Chaz Williams led fifth-seeded UMass (25-12) with 19 points.
Stanford leading scorer Chasson Randle picked up his fourth foul with 13½ minutes left, and the Cardinal really missed his defense on Williams.
UMass tied the score on an alley-oop from Williams to Maxie Esho with 8½ minutes to go. After Josh Huestis scored inside to put Stanford back up, Freddie Riley hit a 3 for the Minutemen's only lead of the second half.
Brown answered with a 3, but Williams tied it with a drive to the basket. After Owens missed a dunk, Aaron Bright made a more difficult shot, hitting a long jumper.
With Stanford up 56-54 and about 5 minutes left, Randle drove to the basket and collided with Terrell Vinson. A charge would have ended Randle's night; instead, Vinson was called for a blocking foul, giving Randle a chance at a three-point play. He missed the free throw, but the Cardinal led 58-54 and still had their leading scorer in the game.
Williams was saddled by foul trouble in the first half, then hobbled off the court with more than 12 minutes to go in the second. A trainer massaged his right calf on the bench, and he returned with 10:47 remaining. Williams was averaging 22.7 points in the NIT.
With former Stanford player Landry Fields of the Knicks cheering the Cardinal on, Owens again looked right at home at Madison Square Garden. He scored a season-high 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting against Oklahoma State in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals in November.
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