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Owens played college basketball at Monmouth during the 1999–2000 season and competed with the Hawks from 1999 to 2003 as a center in the Northeast Conference.

Born June 9, 1980, Owens attended Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and entered Monmouth as a redshirt freshman starter in 1999–2000.

In 1999–2000, Owens started all 28 games and averaged 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while lifting his conference production to 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and leading Monmouth in rebounding in NEC play.

During that 1999–2000 season, he scored a career-high 24 points against St. Francis (N.Y.) on 2/19, grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Mount St. Mary’s on 1/8, and posted a 15-point, 8-rebound game that included six offensive boards against Albany on 12/11.

In 2000–01, Owens started all 31 games, ranked sixth in the NEC in field-goal percentage at .557, averaged 5.8 rebounds per game, and ranked ninth in the NEC in blocked shots at 1.16 per game, leading Monmouth in rebounds in 11 games.

He recorded his first college double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Long Island on 2/1, scored 15 points against Wagner on 12/2, and produced 11 points and five rebounds in Monmouth’s NEC Championship game win over St. Francis (N.Y.) on 3/5, after a 10-point, 7-rebound output in the NEC semifinal win over UMBC on 3/4.

In 2000–01, Owens also played in all five games of Monmouth’s European tour and scored 16 points with eight rebounds in a win over St. Chamond.

In 2001–02, Owens played 27 games with 25 starts, ranked second on the team at 8.2 points per game, led Monmouth with 29 blocks, and ranked second on the squad with 5.1 rebounds per game.

His 2001–02 season included a 28-point, 15-rebound performance in a win at Quinnipiac on 2/7, a 16-point game in 18 minutes against St. Francis (N.Y.) on 6-of-7 shooting, and a game that matched his career-high with five blocked shots against Gonzaga on 12/29.

In 2002–03, Owens earned All-NEC recognition and completed his Monmouth career as a multi-year starter, with Monmouth’s roster bio listing him with 746 career points and 100 career blocked shots, ranking fourth in program history in blocks at the time of publication.

In 2002–03, his season line included 28 games at 29.1 minutes per game, 12.0 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game, 0.9 assists per game, 1.8 blocks per game, 1.0 steals per game, 51.2% field-goal shooting, and 60.5% free-throw shooting.

Across his Monmouth career, Owens collected postseason experience during the program’s early-2000s run that included an NCAA Tournament appearance, with Owens later describing the 2001 NCAA Tournament trip and the Duke matchup as part of his Monmouth years.